100 Nostalgic Melodies
by Taliax
Summary: Moments and memories bound together by their merging rhythms, one hundred nostalgic melodies. Bond of Flame08's (Cherished Tenshi's) 100 Song Theme Challenge, multiple characters (and occasionally pairings, but no yaoi).
1. The Promised Beginning

**A/N: Okay, so I'm going for Bond of Flame08's 100 Song Theme Challenge! It sounded fun, so let's see how far I can get before I get bored/lazy! Any character I feel like will end up in this.**

The Promised Beginning  - Roxas

Something in my head told me I'd been in this place for seven days. I'd woken up in the boring white bed six times already. Each time was the same, I would just wake up for a few minutes, pace around my room and wonder what in the world I was doing here before running out of energy and sleeping again.

That day was different, though. I wanted to know things.

I got up and instead of going to the window and staring out of the darkness, I opened the door to the hallway and wandered out. Eventually I made my way to the Grey Area, where I met Axel for what I thought was the first time. I didn't remember much of anything then.

There was a meeting. I don't remember much still, but I saw her. Even though it was my seventh day, it felt like the beginning.

That was the day I saw Number XIV. I didn't know then, but she would be one of my two best friends.

Xion.

**A/N: Roxas is the first star! And it's in first person, I don't usually do that with cannon characters. Reviews, please? I know there's not much yet, but I appreciate any comments, good or bad. I'm not always very good at writing short stories, and I need crits to improve!**


	2. Dearly Beloved

Dearly Beloved – Xion

The three of us laughed. I can't remember what it was we laughed at, probably something dumb. Maybe we were joking about Axel's pants falling down on our last mission. Haha, the look on his face when that happened was priceless! I didn't know Nobodies could be embarrassed, but there was no doubt about it when his face turned the color of his hair.

"Hey, if we don't have hearts, how come we can still laugh?" Roxas asked suddenly.

I had often wondered the same thing. "Hm, I have no idea. What about you, Axel?" We both turned to stare at him.

He shrugged off our question, taking a bite out of his sea-salt ice cream. "Dunno. But we can, right? That's what matters."

I thought about that really hard. As much as I would love to have known the answer, he had a good point. "And we can be friends, too, right? I guess you don't need a heart for that either."

"Not just friends, best friends!" Roxas corrected me, and I laughed.

"Right!"

Axel ruffled his hair and laughed too. "You guys amaze me sometimes. You really are special Nobodies."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Before you two showed up, I thought it was impossible to laugh and have best friends. You proved me wrong." He smiled.

"You know, I don't care if we ever get our hearts back if we can always be like this," I said. Roxas and Axel were my dearly beloved friends, and not even lacking a heart could prevent that.

**A/N: Thanks to for reviewing! I'm quite fond of the Days crew, so they'll show up in here a lot. This one is a lot lighter and happier than the last one.**


	3. Hand in Hand

Hand in Hand - Aqua

"I made us good luck charms," I said, reaching into my pocket and throwing the orange Wayfinder to Terra. I'd just finished them and couldn't wait to give them to my friends.

"Ah," he grunted, catching it.

Ven leaned over to look at the charm. "Whoa!"

"Here!" I was glad he appreciated my handiwork. I took the other charm, a green one, and tossed it to him, making his face light up with joy.

"I get one too?"

Why was he so surprised? He was my friend as much as Terra, even if he wasn't trying out for the Mark. "Of course. One for each of us."

I held my blue one out next to theirs, forming a circle.

"Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit... and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to each other. Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with seashells, but I did the best I could with what I had." It had been a pain to find the glass pieces and even harder to melt the metal parts with a Fire spell for the edging. The keyblade wielder symbol in the middle was the easiest to obtain; Master Eraqus had boxes full of them. I didn't think my friends appreciated all the effort the charms had taken. It had taken an entire week to find all the components, and each charm took two days to make on its own.

"Oy, sometimes you are such a girl," Terra said, but I couldn't tell if he was talking about the legend or my charms. I hadn't expected a huge reaction to every detail I'd put into it, but I still sighed inwardly. Boys just didn't appreciate art like girls did. Or at least, I thought girls did. I hadn't met another girl since I was eight and came here to be one of Master Eraqus's apprentices.

"Hey, what do you mean, 'sometimes?'" I had to make up for the lack of any other girls myself. I was proud of being a girl, and I could hold my own in a fight with any guy.

Ven frowned slightly. "So this isn't a real good luck charm?"

"Well, that's yet to be seen. But I did work a little magic on it," I said. That part alone had taken a whole day of research to figure out.

"Really? What?" Ven asked.

I held up my charm and smiled, seeing the stars tinted blue through it. I had a feeling things might change soon, especially if Terra and I became Masters tomorrow, but I wasn't afraid. No matter where we were, no matter how far apart we had to go, no matter what the results of the Mark were, we could call on each other's' strength as easily as if were by each other's' sides, hand in hand.

"An unbreakable connection."

**A/N: The whole part where they're on the summit is one of my favorite parts of BbS just because of how much they seem like normal friends. I like how Terra calls Aqua "such a girl." :P**


	4. Laughter and Merriment

**A/N: This is one of those things where you just start writing without any clue what's going on, and then it ends up like insane mush. But still, I had nothing better for this chapter. So here we are.**

Laughter and Merriment - Axel

Something tickled my nose and I bolted up, wide awake but tangled up in a mass of blankets.

"Hurry! You woke him up!" Demyx whispered, pushing a Dancer Nobody out the door.

What in Kingdom Hearts was he doing in my room? "Get back here!" I yelled, creating a wall of flame to guard the door. Demyx squealed and jumped back, hugging the Dancer in mock fear. He could be pretty convincing sometimes, but I was only too aware of how fake our emotions were.

"Uh… hi?" He said, laughing slightly and trying to hide a permanent marker behind his back.

"What are you doing in here?" I pretended to be angry. I pushed off the lump of covers and walked to the mirror.

Demyx stifled a laugh and the Dancer poked his head out from where he was hiding under my bed.

"What?" I snapped. He pointed to my bright red flannel pajamas with bombs on them. "They bring back memories!" I defended.

"_Ri-ight._" I ignored him and looked at my face, which was scribbled all over with random sentences and doodles of instruments.

_Demyx rulz? Can't he spell?_

"Demyx, you are the worst prankster ever." I sighed and snapped my fingers, summoning an Assassin Nobody.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Demyx stuttered.

I grinned evilly and laughed. "Go on, show him how it's done."

…

"What happened to your face?" Xigbar asked as Demyx and Axel walked into the Grey Area.

"Like you can say anything," I retorted.

Zexion glanced up from his book. "R-U-L-Z? Can't you spell?"

Saïx walked over to us, probably about to give us a lecture, but stopped at the sight of our graffitied faces. "What in Kingdom Hearts did you do last night?"

Demyx and I both looked at each other and couldn't help laughing. The chakram on his face that my Assassin had drawn looked much cooler than Demyx's Dancer's lame attempt at a sitar.

"Just having ourselves a good laugh," I said.

**A/N: The original was much better than this, but it was even more over the word limit. Also, thanks to for reviewing!**


	5. Floating in Bliss

Floating in Bliss – Sora

Flying was made of sunshine and happiness and unicorns and just plain _awesome._

"Woo hoo!" I yelled, soaring over the beach. I laughed out loud, holding out my arms and closing my eyes. The breeze was perfect. The sunshine was warm. The waves lapped against the sand.

And then I crashed into a tree.

"Ahh!" I barreled through the leaves and faceplanted right at Kairi's feet.

_I'm never going to live this down…_

"Trying to use magic for fun again?" She asked, giggling.

"Yeah," I admitted, rubbing my head. I would try to deny it, but there was no point. I was caught. "I can teach you if you want."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe you should teach yourself first," she teased, kicking a tiny flurry of sand at my face. I coughed and spit it out.

"You think this is easy?" I jumped into the air and concentrated hard to float, scrunching up my face. "It takes skill and practice!"

Riku stepped out from behind the tree and startled me, and I fell a few feet back to the ground with a thud.

"Don't forget focus," Riku added, laughing with Kairi.

"Sheesh, so I got distracted a few times. I can _fly_." I took a running start as much as I could with the ferns and bushes in the way and leapt into the air. Looking down, I stuck out my tongue at Kairi and Riku. Eventually they'd figure out how to glide, but until then the sky was mine.

I laughed and did flips in mid-air, floating in bliss.

**A/N: Not over the word limit this time! Yay! And here we have my probably OOC attempt at writing something with the original trio. But hey, it fits the theme better than the last chapter!**


	6. Tears of the Light

Tears of the Light – Xion

I closed my eyes for the last time, feeling the ice cold tingling take over completely, shattering into a thousand shards. I was nowhere, everywhere. Without needing anything to see out of, I could view Roxas below, picking up the one thing I'd left behind. The seashell.

I felt the warmth of his hand in mine through it. If only I could've held that hand a moment longer…

I saw his face, more sadness reflected in those eyes than I'd been told a Nobody could feel. From inside him, I felt the sadness, too- like an overflowing ocean, the tide so high it spilled over into a single tear, brimming with light. Not darkness, not nothingness, but pure light. He had a heart full of it, I could feel now.

The light of the setting sun reflected on the tear. _Why can't I comfort him? I did this all to protect him, and here I am, all split apart in fragments. I'm inside him, inside Sora, inside the seashell, drifting in the sky. I wanted to know who I was, and I thought I would figure out by doing this… But who am I now?_

My view was fading. The sky grew farther away, my presence faded out of everywhere except Roxas. Until he returned to Sora as well, that was where I wanted to be. I _would_ protect him.

Summoning my last bit of strength, I poured all my power in with his. My keyblade would be with him, guarding him.

He would not need to shed any more tears of light for me. I would be with him.

**A/N: I told myself I'd try not to repeat characters for a while, but I couldn't get out any other ideas for this, and it's my unofficial Day 358. So here it is. Plot bunnies kinda flew around all over the place. Reviews, please? *Gives out whatever reviewers want this time***


	7. Another Side

Another Side – Riku

The wind blew through my hair and tickled my face, bringing the first drops of rain with it.

I kept watch from the top of Memory's Skyscraper. Maybe 'watch' was the wrong word. I couldn't see a thing through my blindfold, but even through the now drenching rain I could smell everything around me. The sharp tang of lightning. Wet concrete's dirty flavor, washed into the fresh, cold air, tainting it. The light vanilla filtering through the clouds – Kingdom Hearts. What Roxas wanted to free because of… her.

The Heartless gathered far below, a dark stench rising off of them. Smell wasn't my only sense; I could also hear Roxas summon a keyblade… two keyblades? To defeat the dark creatures.

The slashing noises of the light-filled blades moved so quickly I could hear them cut holes in the downpour, leaving spaces devoid of water droplets for a few short moments. How he'd gained his one key was a mystery, let alone two. And the power he had now—he was able to cut down three Neoshadows in a single swipe. The last time I had watched him fight, when I was protecting the girl I still felt slipping out of my memory, he hadn't been nearly so strong. I almost wondered if I had the right Nobody, but the scent was exactly the same. Darkness and light in one logic-defying form, a gray so different from Sora's blinding white. It was almost impossible to tell he was my best friend's other side.

No point in wondering now. Roxas was nearly to the base of the skyscraper.

Time to see if I could take him on without my last resort.


	8. The Secret Whispers

The Secret Whispers – Riku

I leapt off of the skyscraper, falling with the rain as Roxas ran up the tower towards me. He threw one of his keyblades at me like he was attempting a strike raid, but a poorly executed one. Like he wanted me to catch it. But why?

I caught the whirling blade effortlessly and gasped. The memories of that girl came flooding back, her face in the moment I lifted my blindfold, her scream when I told her the truth about her keyblade. Whispers of the secrets that lay buried deep within, whispers that she spoke to me, wanting to know why she was here, if she mattered. Every thought was painful, because every second she had spent with me had been distressing to her, because every second she was with me she was away from her friends. She had loved them. Somehow, someway, she had loved. I could feel the emotion coming out of the keyblade, up though my arm, into my heart. Had I been wrong to insist she go back to Sora, if she could truly feel? Had she been whole? No, she couldn't have been. The memory absorption would have stopped.

As I fell past Roxas, I couldn't help but feel his eyes burn into mine through my blindfold. I could picture them, blue and burning with hate. If she could feel, could he too?

I landed on the hard concrete, clutching my forehead as the scenes continued to play out in my mind. A Neoshadow lunged at me and I sliced the keyblade through it with the skill of someone who had done so a thousand times. How had Roxas come to wield that keyblade? Oblivion, the one Sora had used against me when I was under Ansem's control. Somehow it felt so natural in my gloved hand.

Roxas landed gracefully behind me, twirling his other key. Even though we were about to fight, we took out the Heartless together like a well-trained team, the last of them disappearing without even attacking us. Jumping away from each other, we faced off.

**A/N: And this will be continued in the next chapter! Again! That should be the last one, I can't see how I would work 'Innocent Times' into this. :P**


	9. The Force In You

The Force in You – Riku

"Why? Why do you have the keyblade?" I asked, knocked to the ground.

"Shut up!" Roxas yelled. _So you don't know yourself. Does anyone have answers?_

Focusing my strength, I leaped up and clashed Oblivion with his Oathkeeper, flinging Roxas backwards. He lied on the ground, still and silent, but I could smell the life still in him and hear the breath in his lungs. There was no way he could withstand a fatal blow I could give so easily.

_He's just a Nobody… But what is that force inside him? What lets him wield the keyblade?_

I hesitated, my mind in chaos, and resolutely stabbed Oblivion into the ground next to him. I had already indirectly taken the life of his best friend. It had been done to save my own friend, but with the memories of her and her love still inside me, how could I destroy one of the only things a supposedly heartless replica had cared about?

I stood there, just staring and thinking, until Roxas regained the energy to stand. He pulled Oblivion from the cracked pavement and ran at me, but I deflected his blow with a Dark Firaga and jumped back.

"Why don't you quit?" He spat the words.

_If only I could._ I paused without an answer and decided to try something.

"Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."

Roxas made a startled noise before replying, "Get real. Look which one of us is winning."

"So it's true. You really are his Nobody. Guess DiZ was right after all."

"What are you talking about? I am me! Nobody else!" He summoned Oathkeeper and ran at me with both keyblades. I wished I didn't have to be the one to take his identity from him, but there was nobody else to do DiZ's dirty work. I always had to remind myself I was doing this for Sora, that it was necessary. But I didn't have to like it.

I dodged his first hit, but he broke through my barrier with the second.

_Riku, please! You have to stop him!_ Huh…? That was her voice!

"How many times do I have to beat you?" Roxas said angrily.

If that was what she wanted… "All right," I said to myself. "You've left me no other choice."

"Huh?" Roxas traded anger for confusion.

"I have to release the dark power in my heart—the dark power that I've been holding back." I took the blindfold away from my eyes and dropped it on the ground. It felt like I was taking away a part of me. "Even… if it changes me forever."

I screamed, the darkness taking me over. It surrounded me, inside and out, energy pouring from me. The force I'd been holding back.

I was Ansem. There was no way to undo what I had just done.


	10. Innocent Times

Innocent Times – Terra

"Terra, are you okay?" Ven asked me.

"Yeah," I said, putting on a smile that looked more like a grimace as we walked to the Summit. We were going to meet Aqua there for a 'surprise,' which could be anything from one of her fancy art projects to… well, anything. I never knew what to think with Aqua, and that was part of the reason I didn't feel well.

I think I was getting a crush on my best friend. That was the weirdest thing to admit to myself, and of course there was no way to tell anyone else. Did this happen to other guys? Eraqus was like my father, and Ven was to young and innocent to know. Sometimes it stunk being marooned in the Land of Departure.

"Surprise!" My friends yelled when I reached the top. Lights were strung on a small table with a cake on it.

"Huh?" I grunted. A surprise party, but for what? It wasn't my birthday.

"Today's the anniversary of when we got our keyblades!" Aqua said, smiling at me. "Don't tell me you forgot about it this year, too."

"Oh, yeah. That." She rolled her eyes at me. Only a girl would get worked up about an anniversary.

"Who wants cake?" Ven asked, slicing the dessert.

"In a moment, Ven." Aqua waved a hand, taking mine with her other, and dragged me to the edge of the cliff out of Ven's sight.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to keep calm.

She rubbed the back of her hand awkwardly. "I wanted to… to ask…" She looked like she was struggling to find the right words, which was rare for Aqua, before giving up and putting on a defiant face. "Oh, forget this."

She threw her arms around me in a tight hug and kissed me quickly on the cheek, making my face feel like it had been covered in a blast of Firaga. "Do you feel like that sometimes, too?"

I pulled her into another hug, still not comfortable kissing my best friend. "…Yeah, something like that."

She smiled at me, and I smiled back. Maybe I wasn't such a weirdo.

We walked back to Ven, pretending like everything was normal, ready to start our innocent party. Just then I realized something-

I had another anniversary to keep track of now.


	11. A Walk in Andante

A Walk in Andante - Demyx

I lounged on a couch in the Grey Area with my feet propped up on the table. Summoning my sitar, I glanced around the room. Great, X-Face wasn't here yet. I'd be able to get in a good jam session before he ordered me off on some lame mission. I would've stayed in my bedroom to practice, but the acoustics in here were amazing, giving my songs a cool echo. Maybe it was to make X-Face sound even louder when he ranted at us. Like he needed it.

I went through a few scales to warm up.

"Legato," I muttered to myself. _Smooth,_ stringing chords together seamlessly. "Allegro!" I played the same scales and chords twice as fast.

"Please, play louder. I don't think the next world over heard you," Xigbar said sarcastically, yawning as he walked in.

Roxas wasn't far behind him. "What's 'allegro' mean?"

"Quickly," I replied. "Like how you would run away from Saix."

The bossy pants himself walked in just then, frowning. Man. "You better get to your mission, _allegro."_

He threw me a piece of cardstock with my mission typed on it. Another boring, exhausting day of work.

"Ugh, can't I ever do anything in andante?" I groaned.


	12. Miracle

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far!**

Miracle – Xion

Every day is a miracle. The fact that I can stand in the morning, speak, laugh, using my keyblade, watch the sunset with my friends. Miracles someone else might take for granted, but not me. I knew the pain of being alone, not having an identity or a voice, losing my keyblade, being unconscious for so long with nothing to keep me company but nightmares. But it's true that you have to know sadness to know joy, and it's a miracle in itself that I can feel either.

I'm okay now. I'm not afraid of the future, because I know I have Roxas and Axel to protect me. They've helped me through so much already that I'll never be able to repay them. Axel says I don't have to because we're friends, and friends do that for each other.

Out of the two of them, Axel seems to understand me the best, though I couldn't say why. He always knows what to do and how to make me feel better with a smile or with some witty remark or by not saying anything and giving me some space to cool off. Roxas doesn't always know how to do that, but I know he cares too.

I love them both, I know I do. That's a miracle, too.


	13. Forgotten Challenge

Forgotten Challenge – Ventus

Nobody will ever know the fight I had inside of myself, the one challenge I want to forget the most. Vanitas with the terrifying X-Blade still makes me shudder to think about.

Well, I guess I can't really shudder, since I don't have a body. I'm just a frozen heart inside of the boy who'd helped me repair it when I had been 'born' again. I don't know if it was really a birth or not, but it was the first thing I remember after Xehanort split Vanitas from me, when I woke up in my Station of Awakening. A birth from sleep.

It still hurts to think that Vanitas had once been a part of me, that somewhere inside I used to have that kind of darkness. Master Eraqus never would've let me be his apprentice.

Vanitas is inside of Sora too, somewhere. I feel him sometimes in the moments, like now, that I'm half-awake. He can never talk to me, and I can't talk to him. It's weird, I _want_ to talk to him, even if it's like talking to myself, just so I can do _something_. That's what I'm doing now, talking to myself. But it would be better if there was someone to talk back.

My thoughts are slipping away, and I know I'll fall asleep again. I always do. But even in sleep the awful memories of Vanitas, of myself, don't disappear. If I just had someone to tell them to, I'd be fine, I think.

I tell Sora about them, even though he can't hear me. Sometimes I hear him thinking and almost get through, but I never have.

For now my challenge will stay forgotten. Maybe, just maybe, things will be different if I can get another birth by sleep.


	14. Working Together

Working Together – Kairi

"Come on, Sora!" Riku called. "We're supposed to be working on the raft together!"

I giggled, dumping a bucket of ocean water on Sora's head and waking him up.

"Hey!" He yelled, sitting up with his hair glued to his face. "What was that for?"

"To wake you up, sleepyhead!" I said. "The raft's not going to build itself."

"Maybe if we wish really, really hard." Sora scrunched up his face, probably trying to look like he was making a wish. He looked more like he was trying really hard not to pee. I laughed again, wondering how Sora managed to make a joke out of everything.

"Keep dreaming," Riku said, knotting the end of a rope a nearby.

"If you say so." Sora lay back down on the sand, putting his hands behind his head.

"You shouldn't given him any ideas," I said, going back to fill up my bucket as Sora let out a huge fake snore. "He's got plenty of his own."

"And most of them aren't very good ones." Riku had his back turned to me, and I snuck up behind him and dumped the water on his head. "Kairi!"

Sora laughed, clearly not asleep, and grabbed his own bucket to splash Riku.

"We're supposed to be working together!" Riku complained, soaking wet.

"We _are_ working together," I said, taking turns with Sora to dump water on Riku. "Working together to make you have some fun!"


	15. Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time – Naminé

The best stories are all pretty much the same. They start with "once upon a time" and end with "happily ever" and usually involve some fairies or magic or princesses. The bad guys or wicked witches end up dead or locked away forever. Marluxia let me read some of these stories, which he called "fairy tales."

More than anything, I just wanted my story to be like those. Sora would love me and save me from Marluxia and Larxene and Axel and we'd be able to live happily ever after. Larxene laughs at me for wanting that, says I'm not a princess. That I'm a witch.

The thing is, she's right. Sora doesn't love me, he loves Kairi. I tamper with his memories, trick him, and make him think he loves me, like a witch would use her evil magic for.

But I don't like to think about it. He's the prince, and I'm the princess, waiting for him to come rescue me. Saying it like that makes me feel better, but it doesn't change anything.

What am I going to do? I don't have much of a choice here. No, that's not true. I have a choice, just neither option looks very good. Either I let them keep me locked up and refuse to help, or get Sora to rescue me but have to lie to and hurt him. I keep hoping someone else will do something, decide for me, but I know it won't happen. The only one with the power of memories is me.

That's another reason my life can't be a fairy tale. Princesses can't do anything; they have no decisions to make. But I do.

I have to do what's right. That's what my prince would want.


	16. Future Masters

**A/N: Oh, I've been so lazy with this! I shall try to make up for it this week with more updates!**

**Oh yeah, and I fixed some typos in Ch. 7.**

Future Masters – Demyx

Xion winced, fidgeting a bit on the couch we were sitting on. "Sorry…"

"Nah, I can fix it." I vanished the sitar I had let her play and summoned it back into my hands. The string she'd snapped was good as new.

"Wow! How'd you do that?" She asked.

I laughed. "Honestly, I have no idea. Guess I'm just a master when it comes to instruments." I played a few quick notes, and she smiled.

"Do you think I'll ever be able to master an instrument?"

I flicked a string quietly. She sounded terrible and managed to break a string in less than one minute, but I didn't want to crush her dreams. "Uh, sure! You've just gotta practice a lot… a whole, whole lot…. And well, maybe sitar isn't the best instrument for you."

"Oh." Xion sighed, looking at her feet which swung inches above the floor. "So… what instrument do you think I could play?"

I scratched my head, wondering the same thing. Sadly, we didn't have a ton of instruments lying around the castle. "Maybe piano? I think Axel plays a little."

"Really? I didn't know that."

"I dunno, I might be wrong. You should ask him." I made my sitar vanish again, getting it far away from Xion's destructive hands. She was nice and all, but I really, really didn't want to teach her how to play sitar. My ears might decide to kill me.

"Okay!" She jumped off of the couch and ran out of the Grey Area. "Thanks Demyx!" She called over her shoulder.

Hopefully she would be a future piano master; otherwise I might have Axel strangling me in my sleep.


	17. A Twinkle In the Sky

A Twinkle in the Sky – Isa

"Hey Isa, do you know what all those twinkly lights up there are?" Lea asked, lying down on the balcony.

"You shouldn't sit up there, you could fall," I said, but he only put his hands behind his head. I sat next to him and he laughed at me.

"You shouldn't worry so much. So do you know what they are?"

"Stars," I answered simply. Everyone knew that.

"Well yeah, but what _are_ stars?" His hand reached into the air and formed a fist, like he was trying to catch one.

"Mom says they're giant spheres of flaming gas."

Lea sat up and rolled his eyes at me. "She's an astronomer, of _course_ she'd say that. Don't you ever think they're something more?"

"No." I stared off at the night sky. The stars did look beautiful from the top of one of Radiant Garden's apartment buildings, there was no denying that. But Lea always had to come up with ridiculous ideas to make everything seem more special.

"I've heard that every star up there is a world," he said, smiling. Things like that. They were just lights in the sky, nothing more. Pretty and useful for warmth, but there was no reason to dream about them.

I sighed, knowing that arguing would be pointless, and turned to face the moon. I saw nothing interesting in stars, but the moon… there was something about it, even if it was just a rock in the sky, that drew me. There was a certain power about it that was difficult to describe. A power that I wanted.

Maybe the twinklings in the sky were like that to Lea.

**A/N: Thanks to Mirae-no-sekai and Timber Wolf of Purity for reviewing!**


	18. Part of Your World

Part of Your World – Xion

"What would I give, if I could live out of these waters; what would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand…" My thoughts turned to dreams of me, Roxas, and Axel lying on a beach at sunset as I sang.

I felt something warm looming over my shoulder, startling me into dropping the microphone. My score dropped with it as the lyrics on the screen flashed by.

"Don't let me interrupt your singing session." Axel grinned, picking up the microphone and handing it to me. "You were doing pretty good."

I blushed, but managed to keep my voice steady enough to finish up the song. I had vowed to beat Demyx's score on Disney Sing It after he'd made fun of me singing in the shower. He did the same, so I had no idea why he bothered me about it.

"Still not good enough," I muttered, glancing at my score and hanging my head.

"To beat Demyx?" Axel asked, and I nodded. But how did he know about that? Well, Axel _was_ always the first to know stuff, except maybe Xigbar. "I bet Luxord two thousand munny you could beat him at at least one song."

My eyes widened. "That much munny? I'm sorry, but you're probably going to lose." Demyx's name was above mine in the rankings of every song. It wasn't that I sung badly; he just sang better. He apparently wasn't the best, though; a few nameless scored topped his.

"Not if I can help it." He took the microphone back from me. "Duet with me?"

**A/N: All the music references keep coming from Dance, Everyone, Dance! and the fact that this is a music-based challenge. TBC in next chapter.**


	19. What a Surprise!

What a Surprise! – Xion

"A thrilling chase…"

"A wondrous place…"

"For you and me," Axel and I finished, shaking from the laughter we'd been restraining. We pulled our faces away from the microphone we'd shared.

"Well what do we have here?" Xigbar walked in, his one eye mocking us. "Though I can't say I'm surprised."

Of course _he_ would come in and make everything seem awkward. I ignored him, knowing the way he could turn anything I said against me, and held my breath while waiting for our score to show up on the screen.

Come on, come on… "Yes!" I yelled, high-fiving Axel. "We did it!" Our score was above Demyx's, which showed that he had dueted with himself. Weird. "I didn't know you were such a good singer."

Axel ruffled his hair, averting his eyes from mine. "Guess I've got some natural talent, huh?"

Xigbar barked out a laugh. "As if. Where do you think all those scores that beat Demyx's came from?"

My head whipped towards Axel's in surprise, but he ignored me.

"Just go get Demyx so we can gloat at him. And Luxord, he owes me munny."

Xigbar only laughed harder, but left through a dark corridor.

"Stupid nosy Xigbar…" Axel muttered.

I smiled at him, working harder now to restrain my laughter. I never expected Axel of all people to sing Disney songs in his spare time. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Good, 'cause then I wouldn't sing with you again. And I'm sure you don't want that." Axel grinned, ruffling my hair. I hoped that meant that he'd sing with me again sometime; it had been more fun than I'd expected.

A portal opened suddenly, and Demyx came through, gaping at the screen.

"No way!" His girly denial was more music to my ears.

"Surprised?" Axel asked.

Demyx probably wouldn't be mocking my singing again.


	20. Fragments of Sorrow

**A/N: Angst ahead.**

Fragments of Sorrow – Aqua

I had never thought it was possible to be so tired and emotionless and still go on walking. How much darkness could exist in one place? It was a miracle I could see enough to put one foot in front of the other.

Sorrow. That was the only thing I could feel. There was no anger, no rage, maybe just a little bit of pure pain. But mostly it was just fragmented sorrow, bits and pieces of memories I tried to hold on to.

I hallucinated sometimes. The darkness was so complete you could imagine anything you wanted to, if you could get up enough hope to believe it could be there. I saw Terra. Ven. Master Eraqus. Everyone I'd ever met- I even dreamed up some people I hadn't. I talked to them too, and they talked to me. I knew somewhere it was just me talking to myself, but I wanted to think there was someone out there, talking to me through me.

One day I couldn't take it anymore, I was too tired, too empty. Giant monsters of pure darkness rose up against me, draining what I thought was my last bit of light.

But they came. Not illusions, but the real things: Terra and Ven's keyblades, swooping out of the void to push away the darkness.

I smiled for the first time in eternity. When I thought there was nothing left, the light shone in the darkness. The light, the friends I'd nearly given up on, had come to help me even in the endless void.

A few fragments of sorrow had been fused back together and transfigured into hope.

**A/N: Double update! I actually had this one done a while back because it was originally a lot different and was going to be used for Dearly Beloved, so the style's a bit different. **

**And I'm a fifth of the way done with this challenge! :D**


	21. The Fight For My Friends

The Fight For My Friends – Ventus

Dodge roll, dodge roll, dark spiral, doge roll again – how am I dodge rolling, anyway? Vanitas broke the floor somehow, and we're fighting in the middle of the void. There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Not that I could hide if I wanted to. My friends need me.

He rushes at me again and again, and I'm getting weaker. My muscles have never ached this much, not even when Terra challenged me to a race all the way up and down the summit. Since Vanitas forced a d-link, I haven't been able to use my curaga spells. If this was any other fight, I would have given up ages ago. But I can't now.

I can tell he's about to give in too, I weakened him plenty already, but he keeps coming at me with all he's got. There's no way I can keep this up much longer. I fire a shotlock, ready to use all the force I can gather. I should be able to use a finish command soon; maybe that will work. Nothing I've tried has been able to break through his defenses yet.

My wayfinder in my pocket brushes up against my leg, and a tiny bit of strength returns to me. Aqua said she worked some magic on it, and if I trust anyone's magic, it's hers. Maybe the lucky charm will help me through this, with the memories it brings back. Memories of things back when everything was happy, when we were all together. The way things are supposed to be.

I know I'll never be able to back to those days. If I lose, I'm dead. If I win, I'm still dead. But at least if I win Terra and Aqua will be safe, and their lives can go back to normal. I fight not for me, but for them.

I wonder if that's what it means to be a keyblade master.

**A/N: Ahh about thirty words over. Why do I make Ven's stuff so angsty? I'll have to write something non-angst or shipping-y soon.**


	22. Precious Stars in the Sky

Precious Stars in the Sky – Sora

Home. I wonder which star it is, mixed up there in the soup of space, but there's no way to tell. I like to think that it's the brightest one I can see, the one right above my head, and that Kairi's looking back at me. Of course, she has no clue where I am.

I wonder if my parents ever made it back to Destiny Islands, too. What happened to everyone? Did I fix everything?

We're still looking for Riku and the King. They could be lost in the Realm of Darkness for all I know, that's the only place I can think of looking. But it's not like we can go there. We're already as close as we can get, somewhere in the middle realm, the Realm of Twilight is what Jiminy called it, I think.

I look up at the stars again, rubbing my hand through the tall grass of wherever I am. The three of us are so far apart, but Kairi says all the worlds share the same sky. Maybe we're all looking at the same stars, no matter where we are.

**A/N: This one is actually under the 200-300 limit. :O Sora is difficult to write, but I didn't have a better idea for this one.**

**Thanks to **Mirae-no-sekai** and Timber Wolf of Purity for reviewing!  
><strong>


	23. Villains of a Sort

Villains of a Sort – Roxas

I'd never thought of myself as a villain. Who wants to think like that? But I can't deny it, either. Everything I was trained to be was wrong, and it took me this long to see it.

_I'm so stupid! How could I let them use me like that?_

I lash out at a Neoshadow with Oblivion, sending it back to the darkness. At least I can't steal hearts from them to send up to Xemnas's monster.

_My monster, really, and… hers._ I shake my head; yank my hood down as a gust of wind slaps me in the face. Dodge roll on the slick, dirty pavement and thrust my arms out, stabbing two more Neoshadows.

_All I've ever done is destroy. I'm sick of this!_ Light explodes out of me: my final limit, Event Horizon. _Horizon… sunsets, with her and Axel…_ The thought hurts more than the Heartless' attacks, I miss it so badly. _We'll eat ice cream together again, I know it._

_A roar that might have come from my own mouth shakes the very air, pulsing with blinding light._

_I don't deserve the light. She did._ Oblivion shines brighter than the white of Oathkeeper, driving away the Heartless' darkness. _What I took from her…_

If it wasn't for me, she'd still be alive. If that doesn't make someone a villain, what does?

**A/N: I'm gonna try to update this more regularly! Try being the key word.**


	24. Isn't It Lovely?

Isn't It Lovely? - Ventus

"Do you like it?" I asked, holding the colorful sheet of paper out to Aqua. She took it gingerly, like it would bite her, while forcing a smile. _Is something wrong with it?_

"It's… er, lovely, Ven." She bent down and ruffled my hair, making me feel like a little kid. Why did I always feel better when she did that? "Is it a picture of us?"

I nodded, my face brightening, and breathed a sigh a relief in my head. _If she can tell what it is, it can't be too bad._ "Me, you, and Terra. I wanted to make something for you, since you're always making nice things for us."

"Aw, that's sweet of you." She smiled for real this time, giving me a gentle hug. I coughed to cover up my blushing, turning away as she stuck my drawing to her bedroom wall with magic. It looked sloppy compared to the beautiful watercolor paintings and glass mobiles hanging around the room. How had Aqua gotten so good at her art? _Maybe it's a girl thing._

"Hey Aqua, the Master needs us for…" Terra barged into the room without knocking, bursting into laughter when he saw my crayon drawing.

"Terra!" Aqua chided, crossing her arms as I clenched my fists. _She thought it was lovely!_

He stopped suddenly when he saw her glare.

"I mean, uh, nice job coloring inside the lines, or something." A grin still twitched at the corner of his mouth, and I knew it wouldn't be long before he started laughing as loudly as before.

I huffed past, slamming the door behind me.

**A/N: Yay I'm doing a good job so far! :D And it's in the limit! Not sure if the first-person worked so well with this, I'd like to do it from Aqua's perspective, too. Oh well, maybe for a different theme, if I feel like it.**


	25. Destiny's Union

**A/N: A fourth of the way there! :D La dee dah de dah, more AkuShi yeah. Takes place right after the Remembrance cutscene of KH2FM.**

Destiny's Union – Xion

_This is why I was created. _My destiny. What's that even mean? We're supposed to have choices, right? Choose our own lives? I think most people are allowed at least that much freedom.

Not replicas. Not me.

_What do you want to do, Xion?_

_I want… I want to be… with you two._

Roxas… and Axel. I'd come to terms with almost everything before coming here, unifying with Sora, but I still regretted one thing – Never giving Axel a proper farewell. If he could remember me, he'd probably hate me.

_I never meant to things to end like they did…_

XXX

"Ugh… Where am I now?"

_That voice—_ I turn towards the black-cloaked redhead lying a few yards behind me on the normally empty white floor.

"Is this what the void look like? Pretty boring if you ask me, not that I expected much else… Huh?" Axel finally locked eyes with me, confusion flashing across his face. "Who are you?"

Something cracked inside me, like shattering ice. Of course he wouldn't remember. I hadn't even been able to see Roxas, so it was a miracle Axel found me here at all. But how?  
>"I'm… Nobody." I mumbled in response. <em>I want him to remember me, but what if… what if he does hate me? <em>I was torn both ways.

"Sounds like we have a lot in common, then," he said, smiling and standing up to walk over to me. "Got any idea where we are?"

"You were always the one with the answers." I grinned shyly back.

Axel's eyes widened. "Wait, you _know_ me?"

"Well, um, I- kind of."

He raised an eyebrow. "Kind of? Who are you really? Your name."

"My name is… Xion."

"Xion…" Axel turned my name around on his tongue.

"Do you remember anything?" I asked desperately.

Something flashed behind his eyes, and he took a step back, clutching his head. Then he looked up again, as if seeing me for the first time.

"Axel? Please don't be mad, I'm sorry for running away, but I couldn't let-"

I was lifted off of my feet, held up to his eye level as he hugged me close, pressed my cheek to his. Tears soaked them; whether they were mine, his, or both, I didn't know.

"You thought I would be mad?" His warm breath tickled the back of my neck like a summer breeze. "I thought I'd never see you again, but here we are. I could never be happier."

_I could never be happier._ That meant more than the universe to me.

And then, just as everything was going to be alright, a golden light surrounded us, filling the white expanse with a yellow glow.

"Xion… I have to leave now." He set me down gently, beginning to fade as he grew brighter.

I took his hand, our fingers twining together. "I've already given Sora back his memories, and I can't talk to Roxas. Please, take me with you, wherever you're going."

He smiled, taking my other hand, and the light flowed between us in shining streams.

"I promised I'd bring you back."

**A/N: **_**Way**_** over, but I didn't feel like shortening it. Oh well, I have more that should be in the limit. Just gotta get around to typing them up. xP **


	26. Extreme Encounters

Extreme Encounters – Sora

Was it real or not? No clue. But considering everything I've been through, it wouldn't surprise me. Stranger things have happened.

That first Darkside, the one in the dream-reality, might not have been the strongest, but it was the first encounter I'd had with a giant Heartless. It was like twenty times taller than me! And I was just a kid, pretty much. Mentally, at least. Though Riku would say I'm still a kid now. Whatever.

It was terrifying. I'd never had a normal nightmare so scary. Picture it like a bunch of dark smoke smushed together and molded into a kinda human shape, with a heart cut out of its chest.

Anyway, I beat it. Somehow. I guess it wasn't _just_ me – there was this voice that helped me out when I was almost done for. It was in my head, but I could still hear it kind of out loud. Weird, right? I think… it _was_ familiar… I try to pin down the memory, but it slips away.

Extreme as it was… Maybe it was a dream.

Maybe I'll never know.

**A/N: I don't like this one much, but I couldn't think of anything else. It's actually under the word limit, wow. :P**


	27. Missing You

Missing You – Kairi

"Why can't I remember?" I muttered to myself, swinging my legs off the dock as I stared across the waves at the other island. "It wasn't very long, maybe two syllables?..."

I sighed, hanging my head. _If he was so important to you, why can't you remember his name?_ Selphie had asked when I tried to tell her about him. For some reason, I was the only one who even noticed he was gone. Why could everyone remember Riku, wonder where he'd disappeared to, but not the other boy?

_It's no use,_ a voice in my head whispered. _If he was ever here, he's not coming back. Forget him._

_No,_ I told the voice. _I won't. Someday, he'll return. He _was_ here. And I _will_ remember him. Someday…_

I'd had this same argument with myself almost every day since… well, I couldn't remember exactly. Almost a year ago? A little less? _Maybe I really am insane. Maybe Selphie was right, and he never was here at all._ Did I believe that? Not a bit. There was this gaping hole in my heart that could only have come from someone I was missing. And to miss someone, he had to have been there in the first place.

"Come back," I whispered, letting the ocean breeze whisk the words away. "I miss you."


	28. At Dusk, I Will Think of You

At Dusk, I Will Think of You – Axel

"Hey Xion, betcha don't know why the sun sets red." I'd told Roxas already, but she hadn't heard the explanation.

"Hm?" She looked up, breaking her staring contest with the ground far below. Her ice cream bar stuck out of her mouth where it had been left when she got distracted by some interesting sight. I nearly laughed without trying; she was just so cute when she stared off into space like that.

"Light is made out of lots of colors, and out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

Unlike Roxas, she seemed impressed with my knowledge, looking at the sunset as if seeing it in a new light.

"Red is a pretty color, don't you think?" Xion said, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye.

I ruffled my hair, grinning. "What gives you that idea?"

"It makes me think of you."

My head whipped towards her instinctively, surprise clearly showing on my face. _Surprise? That's new._ I quickly smoothed my expression before she could see it.

"I think I like the sound of that. So at every dusk, you can remember me," I said, remembering how I'd always wanted to be remembered, back in my Somebody days.

Xion laughed, pushing her hair out of her face. "Like I could forget about you at any other time."

"So, you've got me memorized?"

"You bet!"

**A/N: Ah, more random fluffiness that doesn't entirely make sense. Oh well. This was much different on paper.**


	29. Battleship Bravery

**A/N: Man, this is stupid. Really, really stupid. But I couldn't come up with anything better.**

Battleship Bravery – Demyx

"I sunk your battleship, number IX." Luxord sighed, sipping his tea in boredom.

"Aw, no fair!" I whined. "I can control water, so I'll make it not eat my boat. Yeah."

"You said that the last twenty-one times. How about a civil game of chess?" He was already removing the pegs and ships from his board.

"I'd rather beg X-Face himself for a mission," I said, handing over another one hundred munny. Chess took way too much mental effort to be a game.

"Wish granted." Saïx walked stiffly into the Grey Area, shoving a stack of mission slips into my hands.

I groaned, tossing them onto the table.

"Do I _have_ to?" The top one was something about heart collection with Xion. Ugh. She was nice and all, but she worked hard and expected me to, too! Roxas was a better mission partner; I could usually pawn off my work on him.

"You sound like a five-year old. Stop complaining for once and play the game properly." Luxord took his own mission and left through a dark corridor. Saïx glared at me until I opened one of my own.

"Workaholics."

**A/N: Dah, Luxord and his game-speak. .**


	30. Deep Drive

**A/N: Wrote this after reading Chapter 8 of Christmas at the Castle, and Raberba girl made me not hate Saïx so much, so I wrote this. It's one of my favorites for some reason.**

Deep Drive – Saïx

_Kingdom Hearts._

There is an instinct inside all of us, a sort of longing, for that mysterious power. A drive rooted inside all Nobodies that can remember what emotions used to feel like.

But sometimes I think my old friend has lost sight of it.

He was the one who found the Twilight Town clocktower to be a perfect place for our secret meetings. You never knew who might be listening in the castle, especially not with that eavesdropping Xigbar skulking about. We would plan our rebellion, occasionally reminiscing about the "good ol' days," as Axel put it, and eat sea-salt ice cream like we did as somebodies. It had lost much of its flavor to me, but he still acted like it was the best dessert this side of the universe. I ate it out of habit, and maybe the slightest bit of nostalgia.

Eventually we met less and less frequently. My job required more effort and dedication as I rose through the ranks. Our friendship and plans fell by the wayside.

One day, I searched the castle to find him, for some reason I don't recall. Most likely a late mission report. For the first time in a while, I remembered the clocktower.

Axel was there – but not alone. Roxas and the puppet were laughing with him over some joke I hadn't caught, eating sea-salt ice cream and acting like they'd known each other all their lives. Acting _human._ Even the puppet seemed more alive. And Axel, as he joked with them, looked just like the Lea I used to know. He had changed again.

Maybe he found something else to drive him.


	31. Hesitation

Hesitation – Naminé

My silver pencil hovered over my sketchbook, ready to draw, but I hesitated. It was one of those times where there's a picture inside of me that wanted to come out, but it wouldn't show itself clearly in my mind. Sometimes when those kinds of drawings make their way onto paper, they can be scary. Scary because they come from deep in my subconscious. I try not to look down there too often. I'm afraid of what I might find.

But even I can't stop me when a drawing wants to be drawn, and so I sweep the pencil across the paper, fluid, feathery strokes springing from it. Lines of quicksilver, wild and untamable.

Black comes next. A coat and blindfold dark as a starless night appear unbidden on the page.

Soft peach, the color of skin, fills in the rest of the boy's face. Riku. Of course, from the moment I picked up the silver pencil I knew there was only one person it could be. I don't draw him often because it feels strange, capturing someone on paper when I see him often in reality. I'm not sure why that is; I don't think he would mind me drawing him, even during the times he peeks out from under his blindfold long enough to look at my pictures. I like it when he does that. It's the only time I can see his eyes.

My gaze wanders back to the picture. I realize I left the right side of the page empty, having drawn Riku close to the left edge.

_It's not complete,_ something tells me. Fingers itching again, I pick up a yellow pencil. What I draw brings a blush to my face but, oddly enough, doesn't surprise me.

The drawing of me is holding hands with Riku.

Quietly I close my sketchbook, as if afraid someone will catch me in the middle of breaking some unspoken rule.

_It's best that I let my dreams stay dreams._

**A/N: All the Pieces Lie Where They Fell keeps making me want to do stuff for this pairing. :/ It's difficult for me to write, though. Not sure how good this is, but I've been drawing lately so this is what my muse spat at me.**


	32. Eternal Moments

**A/N: Just a quick note: Ven never knew what happened to Aqua and Terra after he fell unconscious. He thinks he fixed everything. This is him some time after his heart found Sora.**

Eternal Moments – Ven

_I'm Lea. Got it memorized?_

Of all the memories to come out of the whirlwind, why would it be that one? I only met him once, for a few minutes. We fought, if you could call it that. It was more of a game than anything. I won quickly.

_You...had enough? 'Cause I'm willing...call it a draw if you are._

Not that he would admit it. The memory still makes me want to laugh, even though I'm not sure I can. Not having a body tends to make that kind of thing difficult. I'm not really sad about it, though. I saved my friends, and it's peaceful here. _It would be nice to see them again… someday. …I wonder when 'someday' will be._ I don't even know how long it's been. Everything feels like it just happened; memories of when I first met Terra and Aqua feel just as recent as when I met Isa and Lea.

_Ya see what I gotta put up with? Sure hope you don't have friends like him._

_Heh… Any friends would be good right about now. _ Yes, it's peaceful, but lonely too. Just me and my memories.

_I'll see ya when I see ya. After all, we're friends now. Get it memorized._

It took me a while, but I think I know what he means now. Times may change, but memories last forever. So as long as I remember my friends, I'll be with them for eternity.

_Thanks, Lea… Looks like I finally got it memorized._

**A/N: Hey look an update! *Gasp* I like preBbS!Ven better, so why is it I always end up writing sleeping!Ven? **


	33. Simple and Clean

Simple and Clean – Xion

_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel_

_Tonight,_

_It's hard to let it go…_

"Race you to that funny-looking tree!" I called, running ahead of my two friends.

"You're on!" Roxas dashed ahead of me, the thick sand not slowing him down at all.

"I can't let you two shorties outrun me!" Laughing harder than I'd ever heard him before, Axel raced up the ladder Roxas had just climber. They both kept pace with each other since despite Axel having longer legs, Roxas was quicker.

I scaled the ladder last and tried to catch up with them as they disappeared across the bridge. Sometimes it was hard having boys as my only friends – they were both taller, faster, and (annoyingly enough) a little stronger than me.

Roxas and Axel were both running so fast they nearly tumbled off the edge of the small island, just managing to stop themselves from falling into the water below.

I wasn't so lucky.

"Look out!" I yelled, barreling into them and sending us all flying into the ocean. We came up spitting out salt water but laughing at the same time.

"It tastes kinda like sea-salt ice cream," Roxas said, grinning. Axel punched him on the arm, shaking water out of his hair.

"You compare _everything _to ice cream!" Axel teased, and I laughed. "Oi, what's so funny?"

I pointed to his and Roxas's hair, still giggling like crazy. They both looked hilarious with their spikes plastered down flat as pancakes against their heads.

"This is why I didn't want to go swimming!" Axel said, trying to ruffle his hair back up. Roxas didn't seem to mind that his was messed up, splashing Axel and ruining his vain effort.

"Hey!" Axel splashed him back with a wave big enough to send Roxas underwater. When he resurfaced, I splashed them both. "Are you trying to start a war?" Axel asked, dunking me and Roxas under for a few seconds.

"Sheesh, we're just playing," I defended., Exchanging a quick glance with Roxas, we tackled our taller friend below the waves.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Axel put us in headlocks and dragged us all down with him until we were laying on the sandy seafloor, where he released us and laced his fingers behind his head. Ignoring the stinging in my eyes, I watched the sky through the blurriness of the water as the sunset faded to reveal bright stars.

We layed there in peace, not needing to breathe, and let the waves wash our worries clean.

_Whatever lies beyond this morning_

_Is a little later on…_

_No, don't wake up yet…_ The dream faded into the darkness of the back of my eyelids. Too late. Still, a smile crossed my face. It had been a long time since I'd had a normal dream, one that wasn't made of twisted memories and nightmares.

_I wish life really could be that simple…_

**A/N: I like this one. C: The world they're at in Xion's dream is Destiny Islands, if that wasn't obvious. /isignoringthewordlimit  
><strong>


	34. Unbreakable Chains

**A/N: Set during the final battle of Ventus vs. Vanitas. This is my first time writing Vanitas in first person, so this could end up terrible, but I'm going to try.**

Unbreakable Chains – Vanitas

I'm gonna break that loser in. Somebody has to. His fighting's gotten good enough to where he's fun to play with, thanks to my Unversed. But he's still-

"_Too slow._" I teleport behind him, slashing down with the X-blade, and he tries to dodge roll away. _Tries._

"_Pathetic_." Another slash, another combo, leaving no time for him to react. He thinks he can beat me 'cause he's got some puny 'friends.' Yeah right, the same friends I pulled apart so easily. He thinks _they'll _be his power? Going solo's much easier. Just me, nobody to slow me down.

"_Bring it!_" Ventus yells, breaking into his Stratosphere finisher. I curse as he swoops over me a few times, but he can't keep me down.

"_Darkness waits!_" I charge, stabbing with X-blade, cutting gashes in through his jacket, into his skin. Deeper. Destroying the weakness that was once part of me. I'll never have to feel the echoes of his heart again, the light that burns.

"_Heal!._" Ventus's Curaga is broken by my Dark Thundaga.

"_Suffer!_" A giddy laugh rises in the back of my throat as the lightning strikes him. I use the time he takes to recoil to charge up my next attack.

"_Forge the χ-blade!_" We _will_ forge the X-blade. He'll give in to my darkness and disappear to the void. _I _will have all our power for myself.

"_Show me anguish!_" He'll be in agony for every moment it takes to drown out his existence.

"_There's no escape!_" I _am_ him, and he can't escape from himself, no matter how hard he tries. Does he really think it's worth it to kill himself for his friends? Idiot.

"_What's yours is mine!_" And he's me. But I'm not trying to escape. I'm not afraid to take out part of me if that part's making me weaker. I'll use his own strength against him, taint it with the darkness.

"_Light!_" That almost catches me off guard. A column of painful brightness shoots through me, but I hold on to my existence.

"_Playtime's over._" Here comes the _real _fun.

"_Join now with your better half!" _I can't break the chain that binds us, but I _can_ absorb him, drag him down to the void. His consciousness will disappear, and I'll be free.

That's just as good as snapping the unbreakable chain.

"_You cannot resist, Ventus."_

**A/N: Vanitas is my favorite evil psycho. :3 I tried not to woobify him in this like I sometimes do in my headcanon. And it's probably pretty obvious I love his battle quotes. They make his boss battles so much more epic and terrifying, along with his theme music. Yay for using the theme in the place where it actually plays~**

**Oh, and the word limit's taken off! :D :D :D Now I don't feel bad about all my rambling!**


	35. The Afternoon Streets

The Afternoon Streets – Axel

Roxas always acted human, even during our days in the Organization. But now, watching him walk around the same afternoon streets of Twilight Town that we used to, it's weird… He's like an entirely different person. Maybe it's because DiZ reprogrammed him with more memories, so he's not so much of a zombie anymore.

That, and he's completely forgotten that I exist. Don't exist. Y'know, the whole situation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But anyway, Roxas doesn't know I'm alive.

Guess he didn't get it memorized, huh? Well, he's going to have to soon. I've got orders to destroy him if I can't bring him back. That makes things that much harder for me, since there's no way I'm going to destroy my best friend, even if he has changed.

You know what _really_ stinks? Watching him joke around with his fake friends. If we Nobodies don't exist, then that makes them even lower on the non-existence scale. They're just data, but to Roxas they might as well be human too…

Why does this remind me of something? These streets, too… well, the ones in the real Twilight Town. Something bad happened there, and I was too late…

I clutch my head, and the memory fades.

But what was I remembering in the first place? Or more accurately, _who _was I remembering?

**A/N: The one I first wrote for this was Namixas, but it was terrible. So here's more Axel. Xion's the one being referenced at the end if it wasn't clear.**


	36. Hazardous Highway

**A/N: This takes place after KHII when Sora gets back to Destiny Islands. I haven't played KHII, so Sora's character might be off. I just got sooo confused by a **_**giant stinking monster whale**_** eating me **_**in space.**_** KHI makes no sense. At all. .**

Hazardous Highway - Sora

"Wait, will you repeat that last part?" My mom asked, looking at me like I had brain damage. She'd believed me when I told her about talking animals and giant creatures of darkness that eat hearts, but she couldn't believe this?

"Our gummi ship got eaten by a giant whale," I repeated, shrugging. Just another average day in outer space, right?

"How in the world – worlds – did a _whale_ get in _space_?"

I shrugged again.

"There's no _oxygen_ in space. There's no air for whales to swim through. And I can't even think about the _size _it would have to be to eat a _spaceship…_" She began to hyperventilate, seriously creeping me out. Mom rarely ever panicked. "Whales are too hazardous to be allowed in space! They shouldn't be physically able to _survive_ in space!"

Well, I'm pretty sure nobody _wanted _to allow Monstro to fly around space and eat things, but there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do about it. I patted her shoulder, feeling extremely awkward. Maybe the time she spent in Traverse Town after our Islands had fallen to darkness had affected her more than I thought. Or it could be the time she'd forgotten about me; that must've been painful for her, after she remembered, anyway. Come to think about it, she'd been through some pretty messed-up stuff, too. I wasn't the only one who'd had problems.

Mom suddenly pulled me into a hug, burying my face in her loose sky-blue shirt and her flowery scent.

"Mom-" I choked out. Sure, I loved my mom and all, but I couldn't breathe. "Mom, I can't breathe."

She tensed up quickly. "Sorry, sweetie." She let me go, trying to compose herself. "I'm – I'm a bit scared of whales."

_Really? That's it?_ Maybe she had some incident with a whale a long time ago, since we lived in the middle of an ocean, after all.

"I was just kidding about the whale, Mom," I lied, putting on a cheesy grin.

"Really?" Her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Yeah, I just wanted to see if you would believe it. Sorry I scared you."

Mom laughed self-consciously. "Just don't do it again, sweetie. So, what really happened?"

The rest of my adventure stories were way toned-down after that.


	37. Where Is This?

Where Is This? – Riku

"Where are we?" I asked, breathing in deeply as I stepped out of a dark corridor. _A faint trace of sea-salt, but there isn't enough humidity to be a beach. In fact, it smells almost cold. The wind is strong, so we're either out in the open or up high. _The close calls of crows suggested the latter.

_And the one place crows roost around Twilight Town is…_

"The station clocktower," Naminé replied, confirming my guess.

_But then what's with the-_

"Um, I got something for you." She passed me an ice cream bar, like the ones she drew pictures of Roxas, Axel, and Xion eating. "Since DiZ doesn't let us choose what to eat that often, I thought it might be nice to try something other than take-out stir fry."

I smiled. DiZ always was finicky about his food, and he seemed to have something against desserts, especially ice cream. Naminé had asked what it tasted like once and he only growled in response.

"Thank you." I took a bite out of the treat, which was more delicious than it smelled. I could tell why the trio of Nobodies ate it so often.

The salty tang brought back memories of Destiny Islands, and I winced internally. _What's become of my old friends? Of Kairi?_

I didn't worry too much about her. The Islands were safe now, thanks to Sora. The odd thing was, I worried about Naminé more. I had no idea what she went through in Castle Oblivion, but she still froze if I mentioned anything about it, so I didn't press her. We both knew that some memories were best left alone.

At least she seemed cheerful today. DiZ had finally let us have a day off, so I didn't have to stalk Organization XIII across the universe, and Naminé didn't have to rechain Sora's memories. She always gave off a serious aura while she was working, full of stalwart determination that was nearly tangible. It was very… Attractive? The thought made my ice cream catch in my throat for a moment. _It suits her, that's what I meant. _But her calm, peaceful silence suited her too.

"Do you like it?" Naminé asked, and I heard her take a small bite of her ice cream.

"Yeah," I said, swallowing.

"We can sit down, if you want." Her voice shifted at the end like it was meant to be a question.

"Be careful not to fall," I warned her, and she laughed softly. "What?" It came out more confused than I intended.

"You're the one wearing the blindfold. Do you need any help?"

I started to shake my head no, but I paused.

_When was the last time anyone offered to help me?_

"I would appreciate it." My pride rejected the words, but I smiled anyway.

Naminé placed her hand on my arm, slowly guiding me to a sitting position. _I will admit, it takes less concentration this way. _It took a lot of focus to detect the exact location of things with only three senses (since I didn't plan on _tasting_ any of my surroundings), and my focus was certainly elsewhere.

"You don't have to do everything alone, Riku," she whispered, nibbling on her ice cream.

"Yeah. I guess I just need to be reminded of that sometimes."

We ate our ice cream in silence for a while, and I got the distinct impression that she was smiling.

**A/N: Yay for more Riku! :D I can't believe I forgot about him for so long, he's so much fun to write. And I like Namiku. C:**

**DiZ now hates ice cream because he used to eat it with Ienzo, and since all his apprentices betrayed him… Well, it brings up painful memories. Yeah. And I dunno about the take-out thing, it was the first thing that came to mind. xP**

**This will probably get continued in a later chapter, but I'll have to find one that I can make fit.**


	38. Having a Wild Time

Having a Wild Time – Aqua

"Come on, Aqua!" Terra coaxed.

"Please?" Ven pleaded, kneeling in front of me. It was hard to keep my serious composure at the adorably hilarious sight. "We promise it'll just be this one time!"

"It's not like it'll hurt anything," Terra reasoned with some logic that was completely beyond me. Who knew what the Master would do if he figured out about this?

"The fact remains that we're breaking curfew. We can't go that far from the castle after dark." I crossed my arms.

Terra smirked. "You said 'we.' Does that mean you're in?"

"No!" I objected much too loudly for the dark, narrow hallway. My voice echoed eerily. _Please, don't let me wake the Master now!_

"Shh!" Terra hushed, then whispered, "It'll be awesome. Have you ever seen the falls at night?"

"Of course not." Because _I, _unlike some people, respected my Master. Terra's wild plan would surely get us all triple chores for a month. _At the least._ There were always enough things that could be piled on us when we (and by 'we' I mean 'Terra and Ven') misbehaved.

"That's right, you've never broken a single rule in your life. Except that one…" Terra said smugly, making my face turn hot.

"That was a long time ago," I defended.

"You broke a rule, Aqua?" Ven asked incredulously. The incident had been before he had come to the Land of Departure, but I couldn't tell him that, as he believed he'd always lived here. That's what Master Eraqus told us was best.

"Yep, and I can tell the Master at _any time,_" Terra had waved that threat over my head for years, but not usually like this. "So you'll come, right? We'll have a great time."

"And we can go swimming!" Ven bounced in excitement.

I dropped my face into my hands. They wouldn't let me go to sleep in peace now that I knew their plan, and I couldn't let them go on their own even without Terra's threat. The path to the falls was treacherous even in daylight, and I knew the road better than they did since I went swimming so often.

And then there was the fact that I was secretly excited to go on a short adventure with my two best friends. We'd been training so much lately that we barely had any time to play around.

I sighed. "Fine. I'm in."

**A/N: This 'fic needs more BbS trio; I don't write about them much. And I'm sure I completely mess up Terra's character 'cause I go almost completely by fanon with him. BbS needed more of them being friends and interacting and not being mad at each other. :C **

**This shall be continued in the next chapter~**


	39. Oopsy Daisy

Oopsy-Daisy – Terra

I was glad I'd saved my one piece of blackmail for this, and that Aqua somehow hadn't thought to blackmail me back. After all, she probably remembered more times I'd broken rules than I did, but I wasn't about to complain about my stroke of luck.

Aqua led us to the falls the long (but admittedly safer) way without incident. Well, except for when Ven nearly slipped off the cliff edge, but I caught him and he was fine. Seriously, he gets into more trouble than I do just by accident.

Pushing through the last bushes, we came out at the ledge across from the falls.

Aqua gasped in amazement, and I smirked. For all her complaining about my reckless idea, she appreciated the falls' beauty the most. I knew she would. That's why I planned to get her to come even before she caught me and Ven sneaking out.

The bright full moon shined on her hair and reflected off her eyes, which to me was way better than looking at the waterfall.

"Pretty neat, huh?" I crossed my arms in satisfaction.

Aqua nodded, still staring. "The way it cascades while reflecting the stars… It's like the stars are flowing inside of it."

"Yeah." I agreed out of courtesy, not really paying attention.

"Uh-huh," Ven agreed with just as much fake enthusiasm. "C'mon, let's swim!"

Aqua looked at our clothes. "Those might not be the best for swimming in."

Ven and I glanced at each other and shrugged, grinning. We threw off our shirts in unison and tossed them on a nearby rock.

"That's not what I meant!" Aqua looked away, blushing, as we took off our shoes.

Ven probably didn't hear her – he was too busy whooping as he cannonballed fifteen feet into the water below.

"What, you're not embarrassed to see us shirtless, are you?" I teased.

She pointedly refused to look anywhere near my torso, but she still responded with a stubborn, "No."

"Then take off your shoes and let's dive in."

She glared at me. "I don't see _you_ diving in."

I smirked. "I've gotta make sure you're coming first."

Cautiously removing her metal shoes, she replied, "I still don't think this is-"

She never finished her sentence. I grabbed her hand and pulled her over the edge.

Screaming in surprise, she let go of my hand, but we were already falling. Of course she managed to turn it into a graceful swan dive, while I smacked into the water with my shoulder.

We both resurfaced, coughing and spluttering.

"Aqua gets a nine out of ten, Terra gets a negative ten out of ten," Ven announced cheerfully, "with an extra five points for holding Aqua's hand, so that's a negative five out of ten."

Aqua ignored him, glaring straight at me with fire in her blue eyes. It would've been pretty if she was mad at anyone but me.

"Heh, oops?"

**A/N: This one was pretty fun to write. I have two ideas for the next chapter, one of which might continue this. Otherwise, the ending will be left mostly ambiguous. ^^;**


	40. Happy Holidays!

**A/N: Decided to continue from the last chapter.**

Happy Holidays! – Ventus

"Come on Aqua, don't be mad," I tried to placate her. "Terra just wanted to help you have some fun! We're already here; don't you want to take a holiday?"

Aqua continued to glare so much that Terra shrank back some, still with just a little bit of a sly grin. She was pretty scary when she got like that. It didn't happen often, but when it did we knew we were in for it.

But suddenly, her anger went away, and she cracked a smile.

Terra looked at her in shock. "Aqua-?"

She splashed her arm into the water, soaking him. I laughed so hard I nearly forgot to tread water.

"What was that for?" Terra demanded, but I think he meant, 'How come you're not melting me with your laser glare anymore?'

Aqua continued to smile innocently, apparently not awkward about us being shirtless anymore. Or something. I wasn't quite sure. "What, I thought we were going to have fun? Did you forget how to play Splashdown?"

With a mischievous grin, Terra threw a wave back at her. "'Course not."

"Last one above water wins!" I scooped water at them with both of my arms, but since mine weren't as long as theirs, it kinda failed. A lot. I was used to losing Splashdown, but it was still fun to play anyway.

We swam around and splashed like awkward fish until eventually I got knocked over by a huge wave from Terra. He soon got pushed under by an even larger wave from Aqua.

"You used magic for that, didn't you?" He accused.

"Maybe," she said smugly. "We never made a rule against it."

Terra muttered something under his breath that I didn't catch, but apparently Aqua did.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" She asked indignantly. Indignant, isn't that a fun word to say? Master made me look it up in the dictionary once.

"Nothing, I take it back," Terra said quickly, waving his arms to try and calm her down. "Thanks for coming with us."

"Well, I guess we _did_ need a break," Aqua admitted. "It's been fun."

I grinned. _So Aqua did like to take a holiday every once in a while._ Who knew?

**A/N: I thought there would be more TerrQua in this chapter, but I guess not. Oh well.**


	41. Always On My Mind

Always On My Mind – Xion

I sighed, staring out at the sunset. It always looked the same, with its usual spectrum of reds and oranges and pinks that, according to Axel, traveled the farthest. Except it looked different now. Darker, like it was missing something…

Of course, it was probably just me projecting my loneliness into something I could see.

"I hope Roxas and Axel will be able to make it…" I mumbled. My two friends were always on my mind; I wasn't complete without them. We were like the sunset – Axel was the red, easily visible in the colors of the dusk. Roxas was the yellow that shined above the red and outlined it. And me… Well, I didn't know exactly where I fit in. Maybe the blues and purples, indigo, hanging over the other colors and wanting to be close to them. All together, we were much better than any of us alone.

Alone, I was just the dark, empty sky on a starless night. That was a rather depressing thought. I leaned back on my hands, sighing again. Why was I thinking like that?

"Hey Xion, sorry I'm late."

I looked over my shoulder, smiling at Axel's arrival. Somehow his presence always lifted my spirits, and I was especially glad for it now.

"It's okay. Is Roxas still out on his mission?"

He nodded, sitting down next to me and taking a bit of his ice cream. "You've been waiting for us all by yourself?"

"Waiting and thinking." The clocktower was a nice place for that, when I wasn't worrying about falling off.

"Anything particular on your mind?"

I smiled. "Same as always. You and Roxas."

He smiled back, placing his hand close to mine but not touching. "It's nice to know you think about m- us so much."

My surprise at his slip showed, but I still laughed, sliding my hand so our fingertips brushed. I wondered if he was sad sometimes that yellow came between red and dark indigo in the sunset.

Of course, I liked the yellow, but… What would the dusk look like if red and indigo had a chance to be side by side for a little while?

"'Us' includes you. Don't forget you're always on my mind, Axel."


	42. Dance of the Darling

Dance of the Darling – Kairi

"But Kairi, dancing's for girls," Sora told me. "Riku said so."

I pouted, crossing my arms, and hoped it would work better on Sora than it did on Mommy. "Riku doesn't know _everything_. Don't you think dancing looks fun?" I twirled on my tip-toes to demonstrate.

"I dunno…" He put his hands behind his head like he liked to do when he was thinking.

"I always play what you and Riku want," I said. "Can we please play dancing?"

Sora looked back and forth down the beach. "Well… as long as nobody sees us."

"Yay!" I grabbed his hands and swung his arms. For some reason his face turned red, and I frowned. "Did you get a sunburn?"

"No." His face turned redder. Why was it doing that? Maybe the sun was mad at him and was trying to fry him like a chicken. I pulled him under a palm tree where the sun couldn't be a meanie-face and try to hurt him.

"Then why's your face all red?"

"I don't know." He let go of my hands and rubbed his cheeks, but the red didn't go away.

"Are you sure?" I put my hands on my hips like Mommy did when she caught me lying. "Maybe we should go home so your face doesn't get burned off."

"I'm fine, Kairi, really! It doesn't hurt or anything. C'mon, don't you want to dance?" He reached for my hands, and I forgot to wonder about his face.

"Of course I do!"

I pulled him around the beach, spinning and skipping and laughing. He laughed and kicked up sand when he tripped, but I pulled him back up and we danced around some more.

Someone else started laughing besides us.

"Riku!" Sora yelled. I guessed Riku was the person Sora really didn't want to see him dancing, but he didn't have sound so mean about it.

"Hi Riku! Wanna dance with us?" I asked. Maybe he'd change his mind about it just being for girls if he tried it.

He shrugged and walked over to us. "Not really."

"You don't have to act all old and boring." I told him. I let go of one of Sora's hands to take his so we made a circle.

Riku stared at my hand. "…If you really want me to."

"I thought you said dancing's for girls," Sora said with a frown. Riku just glared at him.

"Be nice!" I scolded. "Let's dance!"

I spun with them through the sand until all three of us were smiling and laughing.

**A/N: When I write them as kids I like to do Kairi's POV for some reason.**


	43. Disappeared

**A/N: Sora's about eight, Riku's about nine.**

Disappeared – Sora

"Riku!" I yelled, throwing the stuff lying in piles on my floor across my room into different piles. Maybe I should actually clean up sometime… Nah. How would I find anything if it wasn't already out somewhere on my floor?

But I couldn't find what I was looking for now…

"Riku!" I yelled again.

"What?" Riku came back from the kitchen with a glass of milk (maybe that's why his muscles were so huge…) and stood in the doorway. "Lose something?"

"You took her, didn't you?"

"'Her'?" Riku smirked. I stopped throwing stuff so I could glare at him.

"She was here this morning before you came over! She couldn't have just disappeared!"

"It's not my fault you lost it in all that junk you have."

I was annoyed he called my stuffed animal an 'it,' but I went back to searching, flinging dirty clothes (so that's where my favorite shirt went!) and old homework that I never turned in (whoops, Mom's gonna be mad when she sees my report card…) all over the place.

"Fine, don't help me look," I pouted. Riku's just jealous 'cause Kairi didn't make him a stuffed animal too. I'd find her myself.

Riku sighed and kicked away one of my old shirts, revealing a light blue pony with a dark blue mane and tail.

"You're not good at finding things," he said bluntly.

"Yay! Seabreeze!" I snatched up my pony and hugged her. What would Kairi say if I'd lost her and never found her again? She'd probably hate me.

Riku laughed, so I pushed him out and shut the door in his face, but then I didn't know what to do so I opened it again.

"She doesn't like it when you laugh at her," I pouted.

"I was laughing at you, Sora."

I slammed the door again.

**A/N: Believe it or not, this was originally going to involve the RAX trio and still have a very similar plot. xP I've been watching too much My Little Pony lately… I've probably said it before, but I like SRK much better as little kids.**


	44. A Piece of Peace

A Piece of Peace – Aqua

It was always so quiet on the Summit, yet not quiet at all. Crickets chirping, breeze sweeping over the rocks and through the trees below, and tonight even the bats were out swooping around. Those soothing sounds only made the Summit more peaceful.

"What're you doing, meditating?"

Terra's voice startled me from my thoughts, not that I would let him see that. I turned around and saw him smirking.

"Charting some stars for the Master? Finding inspiration for poetry? Am I getting warmer?" Terra sat down beside me, still with that suspicious smirk. What was he doing out here? I'd probably find out soon enough.

"I just wanted some fresh air," I said, then registered one of his questions. "And I told you before, I don't write poetry." I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my blush. Not poetry I would ever let him read, anyway.

"Uh-huh." He crossed his arms, looking smug. "Then who wrote this?"

My eyes widened as he took a neatly folded piece of parchment from his pocket. Ink stains were all over it. I always dripped ink on my parchment while I was thinking, and only one of my poems had taken enough thought to have that many stains. But how did _he _have it? It was tucked in the back of my diary, which I had with me right now – in case I got any inspiration, like Terra said. He was so aggravating when he was right.

I blushed furiously. "Did you go through my diary?"

"Nope, found it on the ground on my way here." That grin on his face that I would find handsome at any other time was now incredibly annoying.

"I can't believe you _read _that!" I yelled, shattering the peace into pieces as I stormed up and snatched the paper from him. "That was – I put my whole _heart _into that, Terra! _Nobody _was supposed to see it, _ever!" Especially _not him. Though I guess it would've been just as disastrous if Ven had found it…

Terra blinked at me.

"Aqua… I didn't read it."

My eyes widened for the second time that night. "What? But you knew it was a poem!"

"Yeah, I…" He ran a hand through his hair, looking a lot less smug now. "I did look at it. I was curious, but I promise I didn't read it once I saw what it was."

"You… didn't?" I whispered, voice shaking, and sat down again, closer to him this time. It wasn't like me to snap at him like that, and I regretted it. Normally I didn't jump to conclusions so quickly, but I had good reason to be worried.

He shook his head. "I was just going to give it back. I knew it must be important to you, with all the ink splotches on it."

Wait, he noticed that? He paid attention to my odd habit?

I stared at the parchment in my hands silently. That one sloppy paper had some of my most secret emotions scrawled in messy handwriting, because it was late at night when I wrote it and I was too tired to pay attention to my calligraphy. The ink might as well be my blood. That poem was my heart in black in white.

So I unfolded my heart, and I gave it to Terra.

"You're kidding, right?" He stared at me. "After all that, you want me to have it?"

I sighed. "Just read it."

"…I will never understand you, Aqua."

"You will after you read it." I didn't know why I wanted him to know what I'd tried so badly to hide, but it felt right. It was easier than saying it out loud.

Apparently I'd pushed his curiosity far enough. I watched his face as he read, not needing to look over his shoulder to know what the poem said.

_I never thought so much before_

_About how the sea kisses the shore,_

_But now when you are walking by_

_I can't help but wonder why_

_Those eyes, tidepools that catch my gaze _

_And pull in all those ocean waves,_

_Once didn't pull me close to you,_

_But now it's all that I can do_

_To hold back thoughts I didn't know_

_Would surface from those depths below,_

_And feelings I don't understand_

_When gazing at that stalwart Land_

_Fill my rather uncertain heart_

_And wash away a little part_

_Of fear that you might never see_

_The light I feel when you smile at me._

_The sea will always kiss the shore_

_Just as I will always long for_

_You to call me more than a friend _

_And be with me until the end,_

_But maybe my hopes are best left_

_Sunk deep within those ocean depths_

_Because from what I understand,_

_Although the sea kisses the sand,_

_Land moves no closer to the sea,_

_And I doubt you share the same feelings for me._

Terra read it. Then his eyes scanned the page again, more slowly, eyebrows drawn together. What was he thinking? Even if he found it sappy and ridiculous and didn't feel the same way I did, at least I didn't have to keep it a secret anymore.

"Aqua…" He finally said, grinning at me a little. "You are such a girl sometimes."

Did he not understand me at _all? _That would be so… so Terra-like of him.

"Hey, what do you mean _some-"_

Suddenly I was in his embrace, his lips pressed firmly against mine. I forgot to be annoyed at him. Somehow through my shock I managed to kiss him back – _so _much better than I'd expected. So _un_expected. Not that I would complain.

"-times," I finished lamely once he pulled back.

"You're so like a girl," Terra teased, "having to make everything more complicated and dramatic than it needs to be."

My face felt hot. "What do you mean, _like _a girl? I _am _a girl!"

"I know, it's just too fun to tease you," he said with a grin. "And for the record, I'm glad you're a girl."

He held my poem out in his palm, standing up. I took his hand but not the paper as I stood as well.

"Keep it," I said. "If you want it, that is."

I let go of his hand, and he pocketed the parchment, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry for teasing you about your poetry, it's… I really liked it." He looked me in the eyes, sending involuntary shivers down my back. "It's beautiful."

_Beautiful? _I'd never expected that from Terra. But Terra had been very unexpected today.

"…Thank you," I managed to say.

"And thank you, Aqua," he said, surprising me with a grin.

"What? For what?"

He started walking back towards the castle, looking at me over his shoulder. "Being a girl."

**A/N: I put a lot more thought into this one than I usually do these drabbles. I like how it turned out even though it was completely different from what I originally intended. I don't do TerQua that much. I'm still not sure if they're completely IC. I wish we saw more of the BbS trio being together and not fighting/angsting in canon. *sigh***


	45. Nights of the Cursed

Nights of the Cursed – Ven

"Aqua?" I mumble, feeling really bad about knocking on her door. It's so late, she must be so tired after all the training we did today…

But her door eventually creaks open. "…Ven?" She asks sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

I rub the back of my head. "Um… Sorry…" Now that I woke her up, I can't get up the nerve to tell her.

"What's wrong, Ven?" She asks, stepping out into the hallway with me. "You can tell me. I know you wouldn't be here if you didn't have a good reason."

Man, why does Aqua have to be so smart? "…I can't sleep." I feel like a baby for having such a dumb problem. Terra called it "The Curse of Insomnia," which at least sounds cooler.

"Aww," Aqua coos and hugs me, making me feel more like a baby even though I'm glad that she cares. "Do you want me to fix you something to eat?"

"Not really," I say, hugging her back. "Could you… um…" My face heats up. "Tuck me in?" I ask in a whisper. So much for not acting like a baby.

"Of course, Ven," Aqua says warmly.

She walks me back to my room and tucks me in, just like I asked. I already feel sleepier.

"Thanks, Aqua." I smile at her. She's the only one who would ever do this for me.

"You're welcome, Ven. Goodnight."

She kisses my forehead, and I feel much better.

"'Night, Aqua."

I snuggle under the covers and fall fast asleep. No more cursed nights for me.

**A/N: Just to clarify, I don't ship Ven/Aqua romantically. Aqua's like his mommy. Ven might have a little bit of a crush on her, though, but I think he'd grow out of it.**


	46. Dance to the Death

Dance to the Death – Terra

I would never tell her this, but watching Aqua train is like watching a dance. She's just so _graceful, _especially compared to my "whack it to death" fighting style, which works just fine for me, but isn't nearly as cool-looking as Aqua's "dance it to death" style.

It would be sweet if I could get Aqua to actually dance – I know she'd be great at it – but I bet I'd have to make it sound like a challenge to her girliness, and I feel a little mean doing that to her all the time. I know how much it gets on her nerves. Besides, it might not work anymore since she knows how I feel about her.

So I settle for the next best thing.

"Spar with me," I say, distracting her from slicing one of the heavily-dented training rings.

She raises and eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be training with Ven?"

I rub the back of my head. Yeah, I like Ven and all, but training with him's a pain. He's like a hyper little ninja. I can beat him every time I can keep up with him, but speed's not my strong suit any more than grace is.

"I told him to get his bookwork done today," I admit.

"Terra!"

"What? The Master takes it up every Friday, anyway. He has to do it sooner or later."

She crosses her arms, giving me The Look. "You haven't done yours."

"How do you know?" I counter.

"Terra, I know you."

Unfortunately, she knows me a little too well. "Fine, I'll finish it today. _If _you can beat me."

"And I assume you want me to do something if you win?"

I can't help grinning. "Nothing hard. Just dance with me."

It's funny how her face and get so red so fast. "Do you even know how to dance?"

"You can teach me." I shrug. It can't be that hard. "Do we have a bet?"

"Yes, but _only _if we're dancing where Ven or the Master won't see. If you win, that is."

"No problem."

I take my battle stance at the same time she does. Even if I lose to her Dance of Death, this is one kind of dance we'll always be able to do together.

**A/N: TerQua keeps growing on me; you'll probably see more of these in the future. If you couldn't tell, it's a sequel to 44: A Piece of Peace. **

**To be continued in the next chapter.**


	47. To Our Surprise

To Our Surprise – Terra

To our surprise, or at least _my _surprise, I won quickly. Neither of us was even breaking a sweat.

"You call that sparring?" I challenge, reaching down to take her hand and pull her to her feet.

"You're stronger than you think, Terra." Aqua brushes herself off, not that she has any need to. The force of my Quick Blitz command couldn't have hurt her badly enough to forfeit.

I grin, noticing that she's trying to hide a smile.

"Don't tell me you lost on purpose."

"Of course I didn't," she replied, dispelling her keyblade and looking away. "You won, fair and square."

"You gave the training rings a better fight than that. I know you let me win."

Aqua's a horrible liar. Absolutely awful. She turns red as a tomato every time.

"I did not," she protests lamely.

"Riiiiight. Because you _didn't _want to go dancing with me. Aqua, you think I can't tell when you're letting yourself get beaten?"

She sighs. "Fine, I admit it. You don't have to sound so smug."

"It's fun." I shrug.

"Well, come on. I'm sure you'll need plenty of instruction to even begin dancing properly…"

"Hey! You think I can't handle it?"

"If your coordination on the battlefield has any influence on the dance floor…"


	48. Rage Awakened

**A/N: Set before 358/2 Days.**

Rage Awakened - Saïx

There is a reason I rarely assign myself to combat-oriented missions. The odds of my taking on a combat-oriented mission with another Organization member are next to none.

But unfortunately, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Hey Saï, can we take a lunch break yet?" Axel asked. "I just had a strawberry Pop-Tart for breakfast, and you're the one who's always trying to get me to eat healthier..."

"No." I continued walking, claymore out and ready to put an end to any Heartless that might try to stand in my way.

Axel ran to catch up with me. "Is this mission really serious enough to get in the way of food?"

"Yes." It was a giant pureblood Heartless that we were tracking, and it could damage this world beyond repair if we failed to send it back to the Realm of Darkness.

"Can you give anything more than one-word answers anymore? You've gotten so boring."

"My job isn't to entertain you. At the moment, my job is to find a Dark Follower, take it out, and then RTC and write the mission report since I highly doubt you will do so."

"Hey, you know I always turn in my mission reports!" He objected, making his point with exaggerated arm gestures. "Sure, they're late sometimes, but I do."

"Does that mean you're offering to write today's report?"

He grinned in that way that always used to annoy and simultaneously entertain me. "Nah, you already called dibs on it. I'll leave that honor to you."

I ignored Axel for the moment - there was a commotion up ahead. The residents of Twilight Town didn't enjoy having their world terrorized by a giant creature of darkness and were fleeing as fast as their normal human legs could carry them.

"Let's finish this quickly," I said.

"And then we can get some ice cream afterwards, right?" He replied with that same grin.

_He's honestly thinking of ice cream in a situation like this?_ I sighed. I expected nothing less from him. "If you pay for it."

"Sheesh, you're stingy."

He smiled and summoned his chakrams in an impressive, fiery display, and we headed for the center of Twilight Town's plaza. Sure enough, the Dark Follower was launching violet orbs of dark energy at the frightened civilians. Having no heart to be afraid with can be an advantage in situations like this.

"Faster we get this done, the sooner we get ice cream!" Axel called, charging into battle without any plan whatsoever. So typical of him.

I, on the other hand, positioned myself directly in front of the Heartless while he jumped and slashed at its hands. It fired more dark orbs, which I blocked with my claymore and sent back at it to whittle down its HP.

"…That works too," Axel said, joining me.

Our battle went smoothly until it called in Shadows, which distracted us at a vital moment. While we were destroying the nuisances, the Dark Follower's homing blasts halved our HP.

Axel cursed and drank a potion before rolling out of the way of another attack. I didn't bother to reach for any items; I had a different battle strategy.

"_Don't vex me."_ My limit break activated with barely a thought, awakening a rage that is the closest to true emotions I can feel. I've never enjoyed it, but it has its uses. I still wished the one emotion I could come close to feeling was something… something different. Happiness, for instance.

But that was irrelevant at the moment. I lashed out in my berserk state, smashing the Dark Follower's hand and taking out huge chunks of its HP until it finally disappeared, leaving me with ragged breathing and shaking slightly from the sudden exertion.

Axel stared. "I'll never get used to watching you do that. You're a beast out there."

I tried to control my panting, regain my composure. Every time it was difficult. It would always be difficult to go from berserk fury to complete nothingness. It was painful and liberating at the same time. Sometimes I wanted to hold onto the rage, painful as it was, just to avoid falling back into apathy.

But then I remembered how Axel had likened me to a beast, regardless of if he meant it as a compliment or not, and heart or no hurt, the thought hurt. His powers just gave him pyrokinesis, which he could control at will. My powers turned me into a monster. It's no mystery why I rarely assign myself combat-oriented missions.

I turned away from him. "…I suppose I am."

"What was that?" He asked, though I knew he could hear me, quiet as my voice was.

"Our work here is done. Let's get our ice cream."


	49. Rowdy Rumble

Rowdy Rumble – Aqua

"You two are like rowdy two-year-olds." I rolled my eyes and covered my mouth with my fingertips to hide my laughter.

"Aquaaaaa, make Terra stop!" Ven pleaded, struggling (and failing) to get out of Terra's headlock.

"He deserves it this time," Terra said, not fazed at all by Ven's attempts to escape. Sometimes I wonder if Terra can even feel Ven's fists; he's gotten so-

"Aqua, help!"

"You shouldn't have eaten my cookies!" Terra retorted.

…Cookies?

"Wait, this is about the cookies I baked Terra this morning?" I asked.

"I didn't know they were his, I promise!" Ven's eyes were wide, he was scrabbling at Terra's arm… I rushed over and tried to loosen Terra's grip.

"Terra, stop! You're actually hurting him!" I yelled.

"Huh?" He only now seemed to realize that Ven was having trouble breathing. "Man, Ven…" He let go. "Hey, buddy, I really didn't mean to…"

I put my hands on my hips. "All this over a plate of cookies?"

Terra looked away. "…They were really good cookies." His stomach rumbled. "And now I'm hungry and there aren't any left, thanks to Ven."

"I said I was sorry!"

"It's okay, Ven." I patted his back and rubbed Terra's shoulder. "I'll bake some more cookies, as long as you two promise not to fight over them."

"I promise," Ven said.

Terra grinned. "Cross my heart."

"Good, or else I'd have to eat them all by myself." I smiled.

**A/N: I have trouble thinking of interpretations for the battle music themes…**


	50. Tension Rising

Tension Rising – Ventus

The tension was so thick, you could've cut it with a knife. Or a keyblade. Any sharp object really, but since there were keyblades out and ready to cut stuff up, you might as well use them.

Terra and Aqua were locked in a staring match, both of them stubbornly gripping their keyblades and refusing to speak to each other. Just because they're older than me doesn't always mean they're mature.

"Guys, come on, this is dumb," I said. It was just a dumb book, why were they both acting like this? I mean, I know Aqua likes her books, but it wasn't even destroyed, Terra just taped a photo of him making a funny face over the last page so she couldn't read it. Well she could've, if she wasn't so worried about ripping the page when she took the tape off.

They kept glaring. The tension rose even higher, feeling like someone had casted Firaga.

"Tell Aqua it was just a joke," Terra grumbled. "And that she should stop being such a funsucker."

I stomped my foot. "I'm not being the translator here, you can hear each other! You're both being stupid!"

Now they were both glaring at me, and I glared back at them.

"Just say you're sorry, Terra, sheesh."

"I wouldn't have done it if she didn't keep ignoring me for that stupid book…" Terra grumbled under his breath.

Aqua exploded at him. _"That's _what you were upset about? I don't have to pay attention to you all the time!"

"You don't have to brush me off all the time, either!"

I'd never seen those two like this. It felt like… Like I was caught in the middle of a couple's argument or something. Awkward.

"Uh…" I rubbed my head. "Can we just drop this? It _was _a joke."

Aqua dismissed her keyblade but crossed her arms instead. Terra copied her.

"Terra has to apologize first."

"Aqua has to say she's sorry first."

I rolled my eyes. "Come on!"

But they were locked in a battle of willpower, and it would take a long time to make either of them budge. Once they did, though, they'd be back to normal in no time, if this was anything like the other pointless arguments they had.

I left them to their staring contest, hoping it would be over by dinner.

**A/N: Terra and Aqua are probably OOC, but for some reason I think the idea of them getting into situations like this is amusing. **

**Halfway there, though this feels like a lame halfway-point drabble… *sweatdrop* I just had to write **_**something, **_**and I kept blanking on ideas. **


	51. Struggle Away

Struggle Away – Vanitas

Is that was this stupid painful thing in my chest is called, love? If it is, I hate it. Why would anyone want to deal with something so restricting, something that eats away at you from the inside?

I can't kill Aqua, which is completely, utterly idiotic. I'm a heart of pure darkness, for crying out loud! But that – that _thing _in my chest makes me feel like I'm having a heart attack whenever I try. If she was dead, maybe I wouldn't feel like this, but so much for testing that theory.

I want to be close to her _so bad, _and she hates me, and I hate her. No, I really don't hate her, butI _want _to hate her. That would be easier than being "in love" – if that's actually what this is – with her. It's not like I even have a chance, right? She'd never want to be with me.

So here I am in Disney Town, another stupid place I hate, sitting on top of a building and creating Unversed for her to fight. She fights like a dancer, spinning and shooting burning light everywhere. Stupid show-off. Why does she have to be so pretty? Gah, I could strangle her. I wish.

I wonder what would happen if I just went down there and yelled at her about all this. For all I know she's using her stupid light-powers to make me love her. This is all her fault.

You know what? It's not like I've got anything to lose. So I dissolve my mask because I feel like it and jump down in front of her, making her gasp in surprise.

"Wha- who are- You!" She yells, a scowl on her face. Why can't she look at me like she does those idiots Terra and Ventus?

"Surprised?" I smirk. Man, even when she's angry she still looks so infuriatingly beautiful. I'm going to kill her. Summoning Void Gear, I lunge at her before she can ask about why I'm not wearing my mask.

She blocks my strike with a barrier and then cartwheels away, like a flighty little fairy. Growling, I dive into a pool of darkness and emerge behind her, striking the vulnerable spot between her shoulder blades. She should really wear some armor instead of that skimpy outfit. Maybe my Unversed already weakened her, maybe she's having an off day, I don't know, but she collapses to the ground from that one hit.

"Who… are you?" She growls.

"Someone who wants you dead very, very much," I snarl back, baring my keyblade. This time I _will _kill her –

I double over in pain, eyes clenching shut. Her – freaking – light–! I struggle to fight it, but I can't tear away. It's like there are physical tendrils strangling me even though I can't see them.

"What…?" Aqua gets to her feet with some effort. Is she not doing this on purpose? I feel like I'm _dying, _and it's not hurting her at _all? _

I reach out to her, not really knowing what I'm doing. "Stop it… stop…" I probably sound like I'm begging, but it hurts so bad I can't help it.

Is that… pity I see on her face? Could this get any worse?

Yes, apparently it can. When the pain almost feels unbearable, I grab her arm and pull her close, pressing my mouth to hers hard.

The pain goes away. It feels so good.

I hate my life.

Her eyes widen, but I keep kissing her, and she seems paralyzed. Hey, it's not like I'm going to get another chance like this. Might as well make the most of it. It's embarrassing how I have to stretch up to reach her face because she's taller than me, but I don't really care too much. Since she's not struggling I kiss a little softer, letting my eyes close, and place one hand on her cool cheek.

Then, for one possibly-imagined split second, she kisses me back. Her lips are so soft.

_What._

After that she pushes me away. "I – You – You monster!" She whirls around and darts off.

I shrug like it doesn't bother me, but I can't help following her from the rooftops to see what she's going to do. Nothing, it looks like. She slumps against a building, touching her fingertips to her lips. Too bad I can't tell what she's thinking. I hope she liked it, even though that's stupid. She hates me.

I'm such an _idiot. _Why do I want her to like me so much, anyway?

I hate her. I love her.

Being a heart of darkness sucks.

**A/N: Writing Vani's POV is really fun. This was an odd idea, but I actually had a dream somewhat similar to this. Yeah, weird. Anyway, this is my first time writing VanQua, and Aqua's probably OOC, but I tried. *shrug* I've been doing BbS characters a lot for some reason.  
><strong>

**Also note that unless specified otherwise, these drabbles do not take place in the same universe. I wouldn't put TerQua and VanQua in the same story if that was the case, or the RokuShi and AkuShi that I've already written for that matter.  
><strong>


	52. It Began With a Letter

It Began With a Letter – Axel

I didn't call Roxas a zombie just because I'm rude and like to give people annoying nicknames. That would be Xigbar's job. I called Roxas a zombie because, frankly, he is. Seriously, I think the Dusks are more responsive.

So here I am, trying to teach him something that five-year-olds can do.

"Ixel?"

I just barely stop myself from facepalming. "It starts with the letter 'A', not 'I'."

"Ax…ess?" Roxas tries again.

This time I do facepalm. "You're messing with me, right?"

I might be seeing things, but I think he actually cracked a smile. That would be the first one since I gave him ice cream when he was just recruited into the Organization. Heart or no heart, it's nice to see a hint of a smile like that when you're normally surrounded by heartless (no pun intended) jerks.

"…" Silence again. Better try another direct approach, since that seems like the only thing he responds to.

"C'mon, try and say my name for real this time. A-X-E-L. Ax-el. Got it memorized?"

"A…A…xel."

I give him a clap on the shoulder, grinning. "There you go! Was that so hard?"

He shakes his head, smiling again. "Axel…"

"Hm?"

"Can you say my name?" He asks.

I grin. "Sure can, Rock… what was it again?"

"You're doing that on purpose!"

"'Course I am, Roxas." I laugh, and eventually he joins in too.

Sure, he might be a zombie, but Roxas is a good kid. He likes sea-salt ice cream, has the potential to grow a sense of humor, and can now officially pronounce my name. Those are three of the most important things to look for in a friend, right?

"Okay, now I've just gotta teach you how to play pranks on the Dusks…"

**A/N: Just some random Axel/Roxas friendship, because I felt like it. My general writing muse is trying to die on me, and I'm determined not to let it by at least attempting some of these drabbles. The quality might not be the greatest until I get back in my groove. I'm working on it, but I'm pretty inconsistent.**


	53. Night of Fate

Night of Fate – Aqua

That fateful day suddenly felt black as night.

Terra, not a Keyblade Master? It didn't make sense. It wasn't possible. I'd always thought – no, _known – _we would pass the Mark of Mastery Exam _together_.

I was a Master. Terra wasn't. The worlds might as well have flipped upside down. Sure, we'd always had our vague nagging doubts, but deep down we always knew things would work out in the end.

The biggest question had always been what we would do _when _we became Masters, not _if. _Terra wanted to travel the worlds; I wanted to as well, but I also wanted to help Ven finish his training first. I always thought that would be our greatest struggle, to decide where our paths would take us.

Terra's path had taken him nowhere. Master Eraqus said that he failed because he used darkness… But how? He wouldn't do that on purpose! But if he didn't, that meant he used the darkness on accident… which meant his heart wasn't strong enough to keep it locked away, to fight it.

Terra is the strongest person I know. Terra…

What did it matter that I was a Keyblade Master, if my best friend couldn't join me?


	54. The Deep End

The Deep End – Kairi

"Sora, are you insane?" I asked, eyes wide as my friend prepared to dive.

He gave me a silly, lopsided grin. "I'll be fine, Kairi!"

"No, you'll drown yourself!" I grabbed his arm. "It's just a charm. I'll be fine without it." Not exactly. That charm was very special to me, and he'd lost it… But he was Sora, and it wasn't like I could stay mad at him.

"I've lived by the ocean my whole life; I know how to swim." Sure, he knew how to swim, but it had fallen way deeper than I thought he could dive to. His grin turned into a guilty frown. "Besides, I was the one who dropped it. It's my fault, and now I have to fix it."

Gently pushing my hand away, he jumped off the deep end. Literally, he'd managed to drop my lucky charm into the deepest part of the ocean we knew of, a trench close to the tiny island with the paopu tree. I'm pretty sure he jumped off the deep end in terms of sanity, too. My charm was gone, and I didn't want him to drown himself trying to find it.

Spluttering, he resurfaced empty-handed.

"Sora! Get back up here!"

"No, I think I saw it!" His eyes were red from being underwater. How could he see a thing down there, anyway? I tried to call to him again, but he dived back under.

I sighed. If I had to jump down there and haul him back to the beach… Well I would, no questions asked, but it sure would be annoying.

Just then his head popped back up, then his hand happily waving my paopu-shaped charm. "Got it!"

I grinned as he scrambled up the ladder. "Sora…" For everything I said, I was really glad he cared enough to get it back, even though it was his fault it was lost in the first place. He held the charm out to me, but I put my arms around him in a hug instead.

"It wasn't that big a deal…" He murmured sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

I smiled when he eventually hugged me back. "Well, it was to me."

**A/N: Random SoKai fluff, probably about a year before KHI.**


	55. Sunset Horizons

**A/N: Continued from "37 – Where is This?" I wrote this so long ago I don't entirely remember what was going on… Anyway, Namiku fluff.**

Sunset Horizons – Riku

Naminé laughed suddenly. "I brought you here to see the sunset…"

"Oh." I snorted, just realizing the irony. "I could take off my blindfold, but you know what will happen."

She was silent for a moment, then laughed again. "Sorry, I nodded. I just keep forgetting you can't see me; you're so good at taking care of yourself and being aware of your surroundings."

"I guess I'll take that as a compliment." I knew our different jobs kept us from interacting much, but really, three months and she still forgets I can't see?

"I'm sorry for wasting your time when you could be doing… What is it you would be doing?"

I shrugged, finishing off my ice cream. "Probably nothing. You haven't wasted my time – close your eyes."

"Hm?"

I placed my hands over her eyes. "There's more to experience here than just the sunset. Take a deep breath and listen."

I assumed she did as I asked because she was perfectly still, with the exception of her drumming fingers and the expanding of her lungs.

"The crows, and the wind blowing through the bells… it's beautiful." She laughed slightly. "But I'm afraid I don't have your amazing nose. I can't smell a thing."

I smiled. "That's too bad. The air's much fresher up here."

Her gentle hands guided mine away from her eyes. I was surprised when her fingers reached for the soft fabric of my blindfold.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She wouldn't actually take it off, would she? Of course she wouldn't; she'd seen me unblindfolded.

Her hands quickly pulled away. "I just– I wouldn't really– it's not my place." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

_Now you've done it, you pushed her away again, _I berated myself. Just for a moment, I could keep the darkness in check, couldn't I? I wasn't so sure… but I didn't have to take it completely off, and I knew she would help me.

"No." Making up my mind, I lifted a corner of the black silk away from my eye.

She gasped, and I gave a sharp intake of breath as well. The first thing in my line of sight wasn't the sunset, but her sea-blue eyes. They were so much like Kairi's, yet they held a light all their own.

"Your eyes…" We both whispered simultaneously, then stared at each other in surprise. She liked my eyes? Well, the eye she could see, but that was aside the point.

I could now see the pink blush tinting her face, and I tried not to think of how nicely it complemented her blonde hair.

It was one of those times I really wished I didn't wear the blindfold constantly. Regardless of my other heightened senses, there would always be things I missed.

"So, um, do you like the sunset?" She asked shyly.

I briefly glanced at the horizon before focusing my gaze back on her.

"Yeah. It's beautiful."


	56. Squirming Evil

Squirming Evil – Vexen

"They're evil, I tell you! Pure _evil!" _I backed away from the abominations Zexion held in his palms. Don't look into its eyes, Vexen, you are stronger than such a pitiful creature…

"Vexen, they're kittens," he said in a tone that sounded highly insulting.

"Get them out of here this instant! I will not allow those squirming fleabags anywhere near my precious experiments! This is a laboratory, not an animal shelter!" Who did he think he was, bringing such creatures in without my permission? He may still be a teenager, barely older than a child, but Ienzo never sunk to this level of insubordination.

"They're injured." Lexaeus entered from behind Zexion.

"Yes, I can tell from their obnoxious wails." I rubbed my temples. Now Lexaeus was against me too? "This is not a veterinary clinic, for Kingdom Hearts' sake! We don't care for cuddly pets!"

Zexion smirked. "Cuddly? That doesn't sound like an adjective used to describe evil."

"Insubordinating traitors, the lot of you!" I was prepared to launch into a lecture on respecting one's elders, but Zexion forced one of the kittens – abominations – into my palms.

It looked into my eyes and mewled pitifully. Curse its manipulative tactics.

"Fine," I snapped, pushing the creature back at Zexion, but not so forcefully that I injured the despicable thing further. "You may keep them, but do _not _let them into this lab again. Out, now."

For once he obeyed, and Lexaeus exited with him.

"Next experiment: find out how kittens can squirm their way into even a Nobody's nonexistent heart."


	57. Sinister Shadows

Sinister Shadows – Aqua

Ever since I fought the Masked Boy – Vanitas, Terra said his real name is – in Radiant Garden, I've gotten a strange feeling sometimes. It starts in my toes and creeps upward, a freezing chill through my legs, up my spine, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. For a few moments I'll be paralyzed by an irrational fear. It's not the same as when Unversed are near; that's only a slight unease from their darkness and a tingling rush of adrenaline. This new feeling is something intangible, untraceable, but completely terrifying.

I'm in Disney Town when it strikes again, in broad daylight, with brightly-colored buildings all around. My legs freeze, but my eyes dart around. Why do I feel this apprehension, like something sinister is watching from the shadows? How could it manifest itself in such a light-filled place, and what could be causing it?

I try to shake off the icy sensation, but it won't leave. It's found its way to my heart, where it stabs with frozen needles.

"Come out!" I resort to yelling. "I know you're there!"

Movement – a flicker of black and red from the top of one of the vibrant buildings. I run after it without hesitation.

I must rid myself of that shadow.

**A/N: I'm not sure I did Aqua's POV very well… *sigh* This has no connection to the previous drabbles with Aqua, but it'll be continued in the next drabble. It didn't come out entirely how I wanted it to, but I've been using this challenge mostly for experimentation with things I wouldn't try otherwise.**


	58. The Encounter

The Encounter – Aqua

The black-and-red shadow pauses at the entrance to Pete's Rec Room, where I have to use doubleflight to reach the roof of the building. I run inside and drop through the human pinball game. Finally, the encounter I've been waiting for—

But when I land on the floor, I don't see the shadow anywhere. Not even a glimpse of black or red.

"Where did it go…?" I wonder to myself before suddenly getting the chill again.

"If I felt like it, I could've killed you just now," an idle voice muses from one of the ledges above me. The black-and-red figure drops down barely a foot away from me, revealing himself to be Vanitas – as I should've guessed. I take up my battle stance, Sweetstack bared.

"Have you been stalking me?" I retort angrily.

"Yeah." He shrugs, like my accusation doesn't cause him guilt in the slightest. "It was pretty fun watching you squirm."

Now that I know where that paralyzing feeling was coming from, I can fight it down. I've beaten Vanitas before, twice. He doesn't scare me.

"Why don't you leave me _alone_?" I swing Sweetstack at him, and he jumps away, still not summoning his keyblade. That's strange…

"I told you I could've killed you. I still want to very, very much." I feel his gaze burning into mine from under his mask, but all I can see on its surface is my furious reflection. _"Obviously, _since you're not dead, I have a different reason for being here."

I glare at him, but inwardly I'm analyzing what he said. It makes a strange sort of sense… Why didn't he try to kill me? He didn't kill me when I was passed out in Neverland, either… Maybe he just likes mind games. Even if it is a mind game, I'm too curious to start a fight just yet. I keep my grip firm on my keyblade, but I lower it to my side.

"You have one minute to explain."

He scoffs. "You think I—"

"You're wasting time."

Now that I've confronted him, he seems reluctant to answer. His clenching and unclenching fists betray his anxiety.

"Why is it so hard to hate you?" He demands.

"What?" Did I mishear him somehow, or did he honestly say what I think he did? How can he say he wants to kill me, then say that it's difficult to hate me?

He tosses his head dramatically, like he might be rolling his eyes under his mask. "I hate Ventus and Terra. They're idiots." He takes a step into my personal space, forcing me to step back. "But you're difficult. I tried to hate you, but you're just so—so—"

He sounds like he's losing it. "I'm what?"

He growls and turns away. "Forget it. Maybe _I'm _the idiot."

Now I'm even more confused, my blade-arm loose at my side. "You're the one who started this. Tell me."

"You can't make me," he retorts.

I swiftly sweep his legs out from under him with a low spinning kick, then pin him to the ground with Sweetstack held to his throat. "I think I can."

I wish I could see his expression. Wait, I can – I pull his helmet off before he can struggle away.

Black hair, golden eyes. Those eyes that have been freezing me for so long. I almost flinch away from the cold fire in them, but I force my gaze to stay steady. I hadn't quite expected to find a human face under that mask…

He snarls and tries to kick me off, but I keep him pinned. "You're stronger than you look," he admits, somehow managing to make it sound insulting.

"Just tell me why you've been following me, and I'll let you go so we can have an honorable fight."

He snorts. "Honorable? Seriously, Aqua, you expect _me _to act honorable?"

"I don't have to stoop to your level," I reply.

"Hmph. Your loss." He tries to shrug like he's not bothered by his uncomfortable position, like he's the one in control, but there's genuine apprehension in his eyes. "I've been following you because…"

He catches me off guard by blasting Firaga at my arm, making me recoil long enough for him to dart away. But before he dashes for the Gizmo Gallery, he unexpectedly answers my question.

"Because I might not hate you."

**A/N: Well, that was different than I expected… I'm still experimenting with VanQua/AquVan, but I can't seem to write it the way I like to see it written. :/ There's only one or two interpretations I actually like; most of the time Vani's just a disgusting perv, which is understandable but I don't like it. :/**

**For anyone who cares, Aqua was in Disney Town to make ice cream and get Sweetstack, which is why that's the keyblade I made her use. My logic kind of fails on why she didn't know it was Vanitas before, since she fought him in Neverland too. *facepalm***

**Vanitas didn't really know what he was doing when he revealed himself to Aqua; he mostly just wanted to mess with her and figure out why he doesn't hate her, then she turned the tables on him.**

**Why Disney Town? The juxtaposition is fun, and the only canon VanQua story I've ever liked started out there. And hey, threatening people with a keyblade made out of ice cream is pretty hilarious. XD**


	59. Vector to the Heavens

Vector to the Heavens – Zexion

I never thought I'd make it to heaven. My path was never a straight vector, and I've never attempted to adjust its course.

I deserve the most blame of anyone but Xehanort and Braig for Master Ansem's betrayal. I was such a small child, and already I was so destructive, able to manipulate my Master's heart with ease… It's no wonder I was bestowed the attribute of illusion. It's no wonder that I wielded it so well, with calculated precision that couldn't aid me in the end.

_Maybe my power of illusion has taken a will of its own now. Maybe it's turned itself against me, _I muse as consciousness returns to me. I appear to be in Master Ansem's lab. I'm not the only one; I sit up and blink at Dilan, Even, and Aeleus. The scene looks almost identical to when we lost our hearts, with the exception of a missing Xehanort and Braig.

Could this truly be possible? Even and I were never able to discover the exact state of Nobodies once they are terminated. We assumed we would all simply fade into the void, but assumptions are the enemy of accurate science.

Whatever the current circumstance is, if my existence isn't lost to the void, this is as good as heaven.

**A/N: I don't exactly like this one, but I couldn't come up with a better idea. Zexion is the only character I could think of that would actually use the word "vector". ^^;**


	60. Risky Romp

**A/N: You know how Terra mentioned that Aqua broke a rule (way back in number 38 – Having a Wild Time)? Well this is what it was. It… really didn't come out like I wanted to… *headdesk* Aqua's 8, Terra's 9, Ven's not there yet. The main reason I'm not satisfied with this is that Aqua's younger, and her narrating style isn't the way I normally write her.**

Risky Romp – Aqua

"Terra, there is no _possible _way this could end well." I put my hands on my hips, blocking his path out of the castle.

"You worry too much." Terra tries to sidestep me, but I'm faster than him. "C'mon, just this once! The Master won't even know."

"The Master _should _know. I should tell him." There are lots of good reasons we're not allowed beyond the castle grounds at night. The Master says the woods can be dangerous, wild, scary, and of course Terra wants to risk going there.

"But you won't, right?" Terra's still trying to sneak past me. I hold my arms out to block more space. "Tattle-telling's for girly-girls."

"What are you saying about girls?" I demand, hands on my hips. Terra never _used to _care so much that I'm a girl, but he's been so dumb lately and I don't know why.

He flinches away quickly before trying to hide it with a grin. "Nothing, if you're brave enough to come with me."

"I'm not dumb, Terra!" I yell. It echoes too loud, so I keep going in a whisper. "There's nothing brave about going and getting yourself hurt."

"But we're keyblade wielders. We're tougher than anything." Terra puffs out his chest.

"We're keyblade _apprentices," _I correct him. "We don't need to sneak out. There's plenty of stuff to do here." Like sleep since we have training tomorrow, but I know Terra won't listen to that.

"Like what?" It sounds more like a challenge than a question.

"Like… explore _inside _the castle," I reply, smiling at my brilliant idea. "There are plenty of rooms in here that we've never seen."

"Hey… that's a good idea, Aqua!" Terra grins and grabs my arm, dragging me back down the hall.

"Wait, where are we going?" I stumble behind him like a piece of luggage before regaining my footing and lipping my arm out of his hand.

"Uh…" He stops and rubs the back of his head.

"I saw a room that looked interesting this morning, let's go this way." I tug on his pajama-shirt sleeve and lead him down the hallway to the left, where we take the stairs to the third floor.

"What's so cool about this room, anyway?" Terra asks while I navigate the twisting hallways.

"I don't know," I admit. "Something about it felt magical, though."

Terra snorts. I hope he'll be able to feel it too and won't think I'm dumb.

It's at the far end of a narrow hallway—a big, shiny gold door. When I look at it more closely, I see gold chain engravings like the ones outside the castle crisscrossing it. Terra stares at it, wide-eyed, and I smile.

"How did you find this?" He asks.

"The Master wanted me to find some panaceas from one of the storage rooms, but I got lost." It's not really embarrassing; we both get lost all the time, even though we've lived here for two years. It gets big and confusing outside of our usual paths and hallways.

"Oh. Did you go inside?"

I shake my head. The door itself was cool enough, and I didn't want to get in trouble. "I'm not sure we should."

But Terra's already ignoring me. "Hey, there's no doorknob."

"Huh?" I didn't notice that before. "I wonder why not."

"I dunno."

He rams the door with his shoulder before I can yell at him not to. My throat constricts when he flies back, repelled by some magical barrier.

"Ugh…"

I quickly pull him to his feet. "What were you thinking?"

"I was gonna break it…" He rubs his injured shoulder.

"Terra, it's _magic. _You can't just hit it."

His eyes light up. "You're great at magic. You try to open it!"

"What?" I step back from him and the chained door. "I can't!"

"Yes you can!" He drags me forward again. "You're the best at magic."

Is he trying to get back at me for beating him in all of our magic training? He stands back, waiting for me to open the door. But I don't know any unlocking magic…

Oh wait. _Key_blades. I mentally smack myself. There are no locks in the Land of Departure that I know of, so I've never actually tried this before, but Eraqus told us a little bit about how it works. I summon my keyblade, point it at the door, and scrunch my eyes shut.

"Nothing's happening," Terra complains. I open my eyes.

"I told you I don't know how-"

There's a flashing sound, and a beam of light shoots from my keyblade to the door, where there's now a shining keyhole.

"Whoa," Terra and I whisper. The door slowly swings open. Exchanging a glance, we tiptoe inside.

It's so, so white. There's a lot of white in the castle, but this is _pure _white, so bright I have to squint. It's circular, too, with a round pedestal in the middle that's even whiter than all the other white.

"Gah, why's it so bright in here?" Terra shields his eyes.

I stumble forward blindly, wanting to know what's so special about the pedestal. I touch it –

_Ow ow pain light bright fire cold cold? Freezing pain shiver Terra help help now can't see bright cold Terra…_

White. So, so white, and I can't see and maybe I'm dead I don't everything hurts so cold _cold cold freezing fire stop stop hurting hurt Terra help…_

"_Aqua! Wake up!" _Terra… My vision returns, kind of. Everything' fuzzy, but it's not bright anymore. I don't hurt as much.

I try to open my mouth, but my jaw's limp and I think I'm drooling. "What… did I do?" I mumble eventually manage to mumble, slowly regaining control of my hands and rubbing my eyes (and the drool off of my face). Terra's anxious face hovers over me. I can't help feeling a little embarrassed that he saw me drooling.

"You touched something and started spazzing out." He sounds hollow. I must've really scared him.

"Oh…" I try to sit up, but my strength gives out. Terra places a hand under my head before I hit the floor, but I still wince. "Sorry…"

"For what?" He asks, sounding honestly confused.

"Being dumb… Getting myself hurt…" Exactly what I told him not to do. This really was too risky; I should've known better.

"Hey, it's okay. Here." He drips a potion down my throat.

"Thank you." I feel the last of the pain and buzzing behind my eyes fade. "I wonder what touching that pedestal did…"

"Maybe you'll get super powers," Terra jokes, and I laugh.

"Yeah. Maybe."

I'm strong enough to stand now, with some help from him. We're just about to head back to bed—

"Master?" Terra's eyes widen, and I turn around to find our master looking down at us in disapproval.

"M-Master?" We're going to be punished for sure. That's if we're lucky, actually, he could just send us back to our homeworlds now and we'd never see each other again all because I was stupid and wanted to open the obviously not-supposed-to-be-opened door—

"What are you doing up so late?" He looks more focused on Terra, but his eyes still feeling like they're picking me apart.

"Uh… we got lost… on the way to the bathroom," Terra says. "It was dark. We couldn't see good."

"Hm. I see." Master Eraqus folds his arms. I shrink behind Terra. "And was it so dark that you thought that this door led to a bathroom?"

"No…" Terra mumbles.

"We didn't go in," I lie quickly, surprising myself. I just lied to the Master! If he finds out, that's probably even worse than if he'd seen us in the white room in the first place.

"Yeah, we were just about to go back," Terra jumps in to back me up. Now if Master Eraqus finds out, we'll _both _be in trouble. I won't let Terra get in trouble for me.

Master Eraqus gives us a long look, and I feel like crying, but I don't. "It's very important that you do not enter this room, should you ever come across it again."

"Why not?" Terra asks.

"Very powerful magic resides inside. The power to create unbreakable bonds," the Master says. My eyes widen. Do I have that power now? "My own master sealed it away because in the wrong hands, or the hands of not-fully-trained apprentices," – I'm glad Terra's tall enough to hide the anxious fear on my face – "it can be dangerously misused, whether intentionally or not. The power to intertwine destinies is not something to be taken lightly."

"…Oh." Terra swallows. "Well, uh, I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore. C'mon Aqua, it's past bedtime."

"Yeah!" I laugh nervously. "Goodnight, Master!"

Terra takes off down the hall with me on his heels, our master following at a slower pace behind us. When we're out of his earshot, Terra asks, "So, it _did _give you superpowers!"

"But what if I misuse it, like the Master said? What if I accidentally bind myself to someone awful and I get stuck with him forever?" I ask nervously, staring at my hands like some random magic might spontaneously shoot out of it.

Terra laughs and elbows me. "Like who, me?"

"That's not what I meant!" I blush.

"Well who else would you even have a chance to do that to? Me and the Master are the only ones on this world."

"Well… I guess you're right…"

"And you're smart. You wouldn't mess up like that, anyway."

I smile shakily, somewhat relieved. "Thanks, Terra. There isn't much to worry about, since I'm stuck with you anyway."

"Hey!"

**A/N: So that's how Aqua got her "special magic" she used on the Wayfinders. Little!Terra is such a dork. xP**


	61. The Other Promise

The Other Promise – Xion

"_But I'll always be there to bring you back!"_

Axel made Roxas and me so many promises. I was so sure he could keep them… But when he said that, I knew no matter how hard he tried, he could never keep the three of us together. Not in this life.

I wish so much that he could… I would love, _love _to be with them again. I'd hug Roxas and Axel as tight as I could and never, ever, ever let go.

But things aren't that simple. The Organization won't let us, Riku won't let us, and I _can't _let us. Our friendship was supposed to be more nonexistent than Nobodies themselves.

We _are _friends. Now, forever, and always. We may be kept apart, but nothing will stop me from loving them.

Other promises can be broken… In this life, we'll never get another vacation day, we'll never go to the beach, we'll never complete Kingdom Hearts, and Axel will never bring me back… But I'll make them a promise that _can't _be broken.

"_We'll always be together, as long as we remember each other."_

And we'll be together even longer than that. Because even if our minds forget, I know our hearts will remember.


	62. Courage

Courage – Lea

Courage is stupid. Really, really stupid. At least it's stupid when it doesn't work. Have you noticed that? If you do something stupid but brave and it works out, then people just remember that you were brave and that's great. But if you fail epically and go down in flames, everyone just remembers you as an idiot.

I'm gonna be remembered as an idiot.

Me and Isa were brave, sure. Braver than anyone else in Radiant Garden. We were gonna find out what was going on in the castle, save all those people that disappeared – including my siblings – and who knows, maybe we'd even be heroes. But all that courage won't be worth anything if we can't get out of here alive. And honestly, what are the odds of that?

I lost Isa. We'd gotten so far, farther in than we ever had before. He was right behind me, whispering some cynical remark about our impending doom, and then he was gone. Vanished. Like into thin air. Maybe whoever (or _what_ever) took him will take me too, and I can get us both out from there.

Yeah, right. A brave idea, but stupid. But it's the best I've got. I'd never leave Isa behind.

I just hope nobody finds out about this, so I'm not remembered as an idiot.

**A/N: Headcanon backstory on how Isa and Lea became Nobodies. Saïx is number VII, so he was first to go. :C One of Lea's siblings could be Kairi; I've kind of wanted to experiment with that for a while, but otherwise they're random OCs.**


	63. Tricksy Clock

Tricksy Clock – Kairi

When did everything start to go back to normal? It can't have been more than a few weeks since our whole world was swallowed by darkness, but everyone seems like nothing changed. _Seems. _They can't really have just forgotten the whole thing, right?

Of course, I kind of did. I was in a coma for most of it… Until Sora saved me. But now he's gone again, and Riku, too.

Time seems really tricky lately. While it seems like I've barely been back on the islands, it also seems like they've been gone forever. I miss them so much… nothing will ever go back to normal until they're home.

I watch the clocks when I come home from school, still waiting for them to come over and take our boats over to our play island. They never do, and it's strange. I don't know what to do with any of this time anymore. Selphie distracts me sometimes, taking me out shopping or letting me hang out with her and Tidus and Wakka, but it's not the same. Not at all.

I belong with Sora and Riku. Why couldn't they come back with me? I don't have a clue what happened. I was just left behind… left here… and I don't even know for sure if they're coming back…

Yes. Yes, I do. Sora promised to bring my lucky charm back to me.

No matter how long it takes, no matter how many twisted hours and contorted days I have to wait through, they _will _come back.


	64. Just Wondering

Just Wondering – Riku

Waves lapped at the sand, making our two boats sway back and forth with the tide. The wind smelled salty and sweet, the scent of summer. Kairi hummed absently beside me. Just the two of us. It was about as perfect as a day could get.

And still curiosity wouldn't stop me from looking farther than I could see.

"What was your home like, Kairi?" I asked.

She shrugged her slim shoulders. "I don't remember. It couldn't have been as pretty as these islands, though." She smiled. "Why?"

I shrugged back. "Just wondering."

"You're always wondering," she teased. "You're still stuck on that idea of leaving, aren't you."

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Why? Do you not like it here?"

I looked away, crossing my arms. "I just want to know what else is out there. There has to be more than these little islands." I _knew _there were other worlds, and not just because of Kairi. I still remembered Terra from when Sora and I were small. I wanted to find him again, and even if I couldn't, maybe I could find that guy who left the Islands all those years ago, before any of us were born. My parents say he's just a legend, but I still believe it.

"Hmm." Kairi swung her legs back and forth off the edge of the paopu tree. "Well, I guess that could be fun."

I sighed. She and Sora always think everything's a game… but if they wanted to help me, I guess it was worth it.

"Yeah." I smiled. "How hard can it be to build a raft?"

A lot harder than I thought, I discovered, when you only a lazy bum and a girl who easily gets distracted by said lazy bum to help.


	65. Desire For All That Is Lost

Desire For All That Is Lost - Roxas

I walk through the rain all alone in the wet cold and maybe I'm drowning in the air. Water soothes my skin but this coat is so heavy, pulling me down like a shadow until I'm only in two dimensions and everyone walks over me without seeing. Maybe I'm the darkness. I'm cold and wet and drops are dripping from my hood and falling down my face, but wait, not all of those are rain.

And I don't know why I'm crying but then I remember, and that's when I start to run. My boots pound down the street and my keys flash, and there's light and dark and destruction, and I destroy Neoshadow after Neoshadow so I don't become them. Heartless don't think. They just attack, and kill, and I feel like a Heartless because that's all I am, just something that attacks and kills and then goes back to the darkness.

_I just want my life back! _I spin my blades, taking out all the Neoshadows on both sides, but more take their place. I take out my anger on them, but it doesn't help, because the anger respawns faster than the Heartless. _I want my friends back!_

I wipe the water off my face with the back of my sleeve but it's just as wet, and colder. Everything's cold. That place inside my chest that used to be warm when I was laughing and Axel and… her were with me, it's cold now. Like I ate a Blizzaga.

I keep running through the streets, sweating rain and panting until everything's a blur and I stand at the bottom of the tallest skyscraper. Kingdom Hearts is up there, filtering through the clouds and being too bright. I'm going to tear it down. _She _made me promise.

That's the only way I can get back what I've lost.


	66. Destati

Destati – Aqua

"Master Eraqus! Master—"

I opened my bedroom door, and something slammed into it with a loud _thud._ "Oww…"

"Terra?" I asked. "Is something wrong?" He's never awake this early, much less fully conscious. Though he might not be after an impact like that.

He rubbed his nose, which looked rather red and flat. Whoops… His eyes still shined with excitement, though. "I just had my Awakening!"

"What?" I stared.

"My Awakening! Y'know, Dive to the Heart, that thing? Master Eraqus just taught us—"

"Yes, I know what an Awakening is." Technically it was a "Destati" if you were to use the proper, older name. We'd both longed to have one since we discovered we could wield. "But you had yours already?"

Terra grinned and summoned his keyblade. "Ta-dah!"

I stared. Of course, we could already summon them, but only in times of extreme danger. Master Eraqus had to be careful with our training, pushing us hard enough to make the blades appear but not so hard that we got hurt. But with the Awakening, Terra would now be able to summon his keyblade at will.

"That's great!" I said, my enthusiasm only a little forced. Of course it was great for him, wonderful. But…

"I'm gonna go tell Master Eraqus!" He beamed again, slinging Earthshaker over his shoulder and sprinting off down the hall.

Yes, I was happy for him… but there was jealousy, too. And on top of that the apprehensive fear that he might leave me behind.


	67. Master, Tell Me the Truth

Master, Tell Me the Truth – Vanitas

The Keyblade Graveyard was one of the most boring worlds in the multiverse, so unfortunately there wasn't anything to distract me from Xehanort's rambling when he summoned me there. It was always the same thing: "blah blah blah X-Blade blah blah Kingdom Hearts blah darkness blah blah now go make more Unversed, slave." I didn't expect this time to be any different.

"Aqua is too much of an obstacle to our plans," he said in his annoying raspy voice. Would it kill him to take a cough drop? "She is of no use. Eliminate her."

My head jerked up from where I was watching a dust cloud swirl around my feet. "What?"

"You heard me, boy. You've wanted to kill someone; here's your chance. Don't disappoint me."

I grinned. Finally, the chance I'd been waiting for… but Aqua?

Something else stirred in my chest and manifested itself as an Unversed I'd never created before. Light blue and pink, vaguely cat-shaped, with sad red eyes. I stabbed it with my Keyblade before Xehanort could get a good look at it, but apparently he saw enough. His eyes narrowed.

"That did not seem like an Unversed born of violence. You don't have misgivings, do you?"

Pfft, no way. That would be stupid. But what was that feeling? A mix of doubt… and… longing?

"Of course not, _Master," _I said sarcastically, though less so than usual. "But do you really think she's useless?"

He raised a scraggly eyebrow.

"Her heart's got enough light. She could be a backup, if something happens to Ventus." I grinned behind my mask. Wouldn't that be sweet…

Xehanort laughed. "If she's strong enough to best you in combat, I'll consider it."

I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, but I opened a dark corridor and left. At least if I didn't kill her (yet), I could have some time to figure out that weird feeling.

Something about it felt almost warm…


	68. The Corrupted

The Corrupted – Saïx

It was on our first trip to Twilight Town's clocktower that I finally voiced our greatest "fear." It had been brewing unsaid in the back of our minds for a while, but it was time that we faced the truth.

"We will never get our hearts back," I told Axel, taking a tasteless bite of ice cream. He sighed in resignation.

"Normally I tell you to stop being such a pessimist, but you're right. No Keyblade, no hearts."

The Organization had been trying to find a keyblade wielder for months, since before we had joined, but apparently they were all missing in action. Vexen's plans to create a synthetic heart-collection device also seemed rather unpromising. If those had been our only struggles, though, I would still have had hope.

"Even if we did have a keyblade wielder, this Organization's leadership is too corrupted." I shook my head. "I believe the Superior plans to keep the power of Kingdom Hearts to himself, if we ever create it. Once it's done he will have no reason to share with us." Any fool could see that his grand plans weren't out of the goodness of his "heart."

Axel shrugged. "What's it matter? We're not gonna make a Kingdom Hearts anyway. I still don't really get what a Kingdom Hearts _is_."

"You're right. This is completely pointless." I shoved my empty ice cream stick into my pocket in an emptier imitation of anger.

"We could leave. Just make a run for it. They never said we hafta stay."

But they did, with everything but words. And even if we left, where would we go? Our home was claimed by the darkness, and so were our hearts. There was nothing left for us. "It's not that simple."

"Well we can't just sit around and do nothing." He glowered at the sunset like it had offended him.

"We can do nothing from our low ranks," I said. "If only we had more influence…" The original six members had their own secret plots and goals that neither I nor Axel could decipher. The new member, Demyx, was the only one I was fairly confident didn't have any ulterior motives.

"We could." Axel's eyes gleamed. "You could get in their good books. With your goody-two-shoes-ness, you'll get to the top in no time. And then we can act."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want to single-handedly start a coup?"

"Between the two of us, we've got four hands." He grinned, but a grimace quickly took its place. "And you won't have to worry about getting yours dirty."

I understood all too clear. His first assassination mission, and surely not his last, was only a month ago.

"Only if we have no other choice," I said. We had no emotion, no guilt, but I would not force my best friend to kill. Even if we technically didn't die, just became nothing instead of Nobody.

Axel nodded. "Right. You just worry about getting in their Secret Club of Secretness, and we'll figure out what to do next."

"At least it's a start," I agreed. Anything better was hopelessly relying on some outside force to help us.

Little did we know that by the end of it all, we would be just as corrupt as the Nobodies we intended of overthrow.


	69. A Fight to the Death

A Fight to the Death – Xigbar

"DEMYX!" Larxene raged, slamming her bedroom door against the wall.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" I asked with a grin, unable to help implying that I already knew. Apparently little Demmy _can _pull off a stealth mission when his nonexistence is on the line. I thought for sure she would've caught him in the act.

She screeched and threw her knives, but I teleported above her and flicked her hairtennae.

"I'll kill _you _too," she threatened, and I laughed. Looks like she hadn't even caught my pun.

"As if."

She stormed off to find Demyx, and I strolled after her on the ceiling. It didn't take long; he was belting out "Hakuna Matata" and jamming on his sitar in the Grey Area.

"_I'LL KILL YOU!"_ She screeched, lunging at him. He squeaked and held his sitar over his head just in time. Heh, maybe this would actually be a good show.

"Xiggy, help!"

I laughed as they exploded into an all-out Boss Battle. Larxene was quick as if she'd stolen Luxord's time-powers, but Demyx had his Cowardly Fleeing Speed, so they pretty much looked like two coffee-injected squirrels bouncing off the walls.

"It's not my fault!" Demyx squealed as her knives almost gave him a crew cut. "Xiggy made me!"

She stopped slashing and focused a vengeful glare on me. "_You_ made him paint my underwear pink!?"

"As if the Waterboy would come up with that on his own." I grinned before teleporting away.

As if I wanted to get in a fight to the death over something as lame as pink underwear.


	70. Memories in Pieces

Memories in Pieces – Naminé

I sighed, resting my head on the table cluttered with sketches. "The pieces don't line up anymore."

Riku peered over my shoulder but said nothing. His blindfold was askew, so that it functioned more like an eyepatch. If it was anyone other than Riku I would've laughed, but I knew that he was at risk even taking off the black fabric halfway.

"There are Sora's memories, and Roxas's memories, and her memories-" I referred to the replica girl as a vague "her" since I didn't know her name yet, "-but that's not all."

Riku picked up a sketch of a green star-shaped amulet. "This looks almost like Kairi's lucky charm."

"But it isn't. It's not from any of their memories."

"Whose is it, then?"

I shook my head. "I can't be sure. There are so many pieces… Sora is like a magnet. Any memories with nowhere to go seem to find him."

"That sounds about right," Riku agreed casually. He examined another sketch, on that had given me a sick feeling to draw. From the look on his face, nonchalant at first glance but too tight, I could tell he felt the same. "Do you know where this one came from?"

The picture was of a boy in a suit similar to Repliku's, or Riku's when he was possessed by Ansem, but this boy's suit was red and he wore a dark mask.

"Not from the same person as the star-charm," I said. If anything, they were exact opposites. "Like I said, it's a mess."

Riku gave me a sympathetic look, almost touching my hand. "You'll figure it out. You've done great so far."

He left, and I sustained myself on his confidence and praise through the long, difficult hours of piecing together Sora's memory puzzle.

**A/N: If it wasn't clear, the green charm was Ven's Wayfinder, and the boy was Vanitas. On a random note, Naminé is the only one who calls the Riku replica 'Repliku' in my headcanon; she came up with the name because she didn't want him to have to share Riku's. **


	71. Lazy Afternoons

Lazy Afternoons – Terra

"How did I know you'd be here?" I smiled, shaking my head, and Aqua looked up from her book in surprise. She relaxed and smiled back when she saw me.

"Oh. Hi, Terra." After those three words, her nose went right back into her book.

"You're not seriously going to read on a day like this, are you?" I asked quickly. Would it kill her to pay attention to me for more than a few seconds?

"Mm-hmm," she hummed in response. I sat in the chair next to her, reading over her shoulder, but I got bored after a couple sentences about complex magic spells.

"Come on, it's a great day outside. Me and Ven were going to go swimming," I said temptingly, but she hardly reacted.

"Have fun," she replied absently. I crossed my arms.

"You are the most boring person I've ever met."

Insults were the easiest way to get her attention. Not the nicest, sadly, but it made a good last resort. Aqua placed her bookmark in between the pages. "What's boring about reading a book?"

"Uh, _everything." _Sometimes I didn't have a clue what went on in her head. "It's summer, Aqua. And it's a vacation day. Could you please just be lazy with me and Ven for once?"

She sighed, but since she was smiling I didn't worry too much. "Since you said 'please.' "

I grinned. "Race me to the falls?"

"Once we're out of the library," she compromised.

As soon as we were through the door, we sprinted through the castle and out into the lazy afternoon sun.


	72. A New Day is Dawning

A New Day is Dawning – Riku

The road to dawn was long, but not as long as I expected. After following the middle path through the vast field for three days, DiZ, Naminé, and I arrived in a small town lit by a red sunrise.

"Welcome to Twilight Town," DiZ said, his deep voice painfully reminding me of Ansem.

"Twilight Town?" Did that mean the sunrise was actually a sunset? "But we took the road-"

"Time flows in circles. Sometimes dusk comes before dawn," DiZ replied, already walking towards the town. "I will prepare our new residence. Don't get into trouble."

That left me clueless and alone with Naminé. We stood in awkward silence, not making eye contact, until I cleared my throat. "So what do you want to do?"

She looked up in surprise. "Me…?"

"Yeah. We don't have to stand here until DiZ gets back." The town looked peaceful enough; I figured we would be safe. At the very least, I doubted it was home to anything more dangerous than me.

"Well… um…" She flipped the pages at the corner of her sketchbook with her thumb. "…I'm a little hungry."

"Food it is, then." I turned towards the town's entrance, but she hung behind nervously. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no…" She looked down again. I realized we had never been alone together; DiZ was always giving commands or simply watching us, especially Naminé. I thought he might have something against her, but I couldn't imagine what it could be. But why did she seem so… scared, now? Did _I _scare her?

I… wouldn't be surprised, honestly…

"Hey," I said, reaching out and almost brushing my gloved fingers against her hand. "It's going to be okay." I sounded uncertain myself, but I wasn't sure how else to comfort her. It wasn't like I was the greatest with girls…

She stiffened, but then nodded. "I know."

"Really," I added. "This will be a new start, for both of us."

"I can't start over… not until I fix Sora," she replied quietly.

"But that _is _starting over." This time I rested a hand on her small shoulder. How she survived in a place like Castle Oblivion, especially while being "cared for" by the Organization, was beyond me. She looked so fragile; I was oddly relieved that she didn't break when I touched her. "And before we can start working, we need to get something to eat. Come on, maybe we can find an ice cream shop around here."

"Ice cream? What's that?"

"What – you mean you don't know what ice cream is?"

She blushed. "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's fine, just… I'm sorry for you. We definitely need to find some now."

Naminé opened up a little more with each step we took down the streets lit by a setting sun. It may have been twilight, but I felt like a new day was dawning.


	73. Destiny's Force

Destiny's Force – Vanitas

I had one purpose in life: to forge the X-Blade and start the new Keyblade War. That was my destiny. I always thought it was exactly what I wanted: sowing chaos, wreaking havoc… yeah, that sounded like a great time. Spreading darkness and despair was the one thing I was good at.

So why did I wonder if all this was worth it?

I watched Aqua from far away, as always. It's not like I could get any closer without starting a fight. That's what I was supposed to be doing… but right now I just didn't feel like it. Get your butt kicked a couple of times and you might not want to test your luck again, either.

Yeah, I admit it. Aqua kicked my butt. And she still looked so freaking _pretty _while she was doing it. Not as pretty as she looked when she was happy, though… but the only time I got to see her happy was from far away, like now. She hated me even more than I hated her, and that was saying something.

So why did I want her to like me? I didn't care what any of those other idiots thought, but Aqua… it felt like she ripped my heart out when she called me a freak. But that's what I was, right? And I'd never change.

Destiny forced my hand. Even if I wanted to change, I was the bad guy. I wouldn't get a happy ending. I wouldn't get to fly off into the sunset.

And I definitely wouldn't get the girl.

**A/N: Vanitas is probably OOC in this, and it's rambly as all get-out, but I enjoyed it. I couldn't help the Megamind reference, either. :P**


	74. Blast Away

Blast Away – Sora

"See, it's good as new!" I cheered, slapping one last strip of duct tape on the Highwind's wing.

"Sora, we were blasted out of interspace. Frankly, I'm surprised we didn't blow up on impact. You can't repair that amount of damage with a few strips of duct tape." Riku poked the gummi ship, and the wing fell off again.

"Aww…" I sighed.

"Let Donald fix it when he gets back," he said. Donald's good a fixing things, especially mostly-destroyed ships, but I didn't want him to have to fix it _all _the time.

"Maybe I could weld it back on with a Firaga." I summoned my keyblade, smiling hopefully.

"_NO." _Rikusmacked it away with his own keyblade. "Look, Sora, you're good at lots of things. Let the rest of us do what we're good at, too. It's not like Donald tries to beat your Heartless-destroying record."

Siiiiigh… Riku can hardly talk, since he _does _always try to one-up me at everything I'm good at. "Fiiiine… But can I drive again after Donald fixes the ship?"

Donald, Goofy, and Kairi returned just in time to join in Riku's loud "NO!" I crossed my arms sulkily until Kairi gave me a hug.

"It's nothing against you personally, Sora." She looked like she was trying not to laugh. "We just don't want to blast away into some far-away corner of space again."

"You really take advantage of the fact that I can't stay mad at you," I muttered even though I was smiling. She quickly kissed me on the cheek.

"I know."

Riku rolled his eyes. "Pretending I didn't just see that… If you two need me, I'll be off doing something all by myself."

"Hey!"

"Riku, c'mon-!"

He smiled, so I could tell he wasn't really feeling left out. "I'm sure Donald wants us out of his way, anyway."

"That's right," he quacked. "Go level-grind or whatever you kids do when I'm not keeping an eye on you."

"Sure thing, Donald." I grinned and tagged Kairi. "You're it!"

We took off running into the jungle, acting like little kids, the way we've always been and somehow always will be.


	75. Apprehension

Apprehension – Sora's Heartless

_Shudder_

_Swish swish, hissss_

Hunger lust _Light light find the light heart her heart take the light_

_Shadows everywhere I'm Shadow why_

_Who are you where can't see_

_Think I have eyes eyes don't work_

_Smell the light smells like her and sea and home_

Joy hope love

_Remember don't forget can't forget…_

_Her…_

_Darkness fuzzy can't see can't think don't stop or I'll forget_

_Shudder shiver hisss_

_Is this me can't tell_

_Closer getting closer feel her smell her_

Apprehension fear_ shudder swish hiss_

_Does she know me she won't know me won't know_

_I'm a shadow she won't see me_

Fear apprehension hope

_No, she knows heart light knows can't forget_

_Please please remember know me_

_She will has to_

Determination hope hope _faster_

_Swish swish hiss faster closer smell her_

_There now light so bright I can see her_

_Shadows everywhere like me hurting her need to help she'll think I'm hurting her_

Anger rage courage _protect her_

_Jump anyway hiss lunge _now

"Sora!"

_Light tingling burning feel sparkly woah_

_Healing… pieces coming back…_

I think… am I… she's holding me… how… did she…?

"Kairi…"


	76. Treasured Memories

Treasured Memories – Sora

The oldest memories are more like dreams. I'm still not sure if they're real or not – but I wouldn't doubt it, 'cause pretty much everyone's connected to my heart now. And the guy in the dream-memories looks just like Roxas. That's a pretty big clue that he's real.

_Lying on a hill, gazing at stars. Three best friends. They speak to each other, but I can't make out the words. The girl gives the other two star-shaped charms. An unbreakable connection._

There are other old memories, but I don't like to think about those. There's a black-haired boy who's so evil I can _feel _it. And he makes these awful monsters… he's scary enough to give nightmares nightmares.

And he looks _just like me._

I try to think about better things, like my own memories. Having fun with Riku and Kairi. Building the raft. Racing across the beach. But we've been through our own share of nightmares, and there are some memories I can't find anymore. Something that has to do with Naminé, the girl I was supposed to thank. Those memories started bubbling up in the Dream Worlds, so they could be fake, tricks of the new Organization XIII. But if they were completely fake, I wouldn't have the feeling that so many pieces are missing.

There are more memories that aren't mine. Roxas's and… someone's. I think. Ice creams eaten on a tower under a setting sun. And… more painful things. They're not clear yet. Axel was there. They really were friends back then, and I hope they'll still be friends when we bring Roxas back.

Sometimes I wonder, with all those treasured memories that don't belong to me, after what the new Organization XIII said about my heart – how much of me is really me?


	77. Face It!

Face It! – Xion

Axel stands in the middle of the hallway, arms crossed, eyes cold as dead ashes.

"Xion." His voice is surprisingly soft, especially contrasted with his eyes. Why can't he just yell at me and be done with it? That would hurt less…

"I don't have to walk," I grumble. "If you won't let me go, I'll just use a corridor."

He steps forward; I step back. "Please, Xion…"

No, stop doing that – he always accuses me and Roxas of using Puppy Eyes, but he's just as bad with that voice, and his eyes aren't cold anymore and mine are almost wet.

"I… have to go…" I stretch out a hand, but I can't bring myself to summon the darkness for a corridor. My eyes widen when he reaches for my fingers and clasps his own around them. "Let go."

He recoils like I shot him, face red as his hair even in the castle's dim lighting. "Sorry – I thought you – never mind."

We both stand there awkwardly. I don't know what he plans on doing; maybe he's already doing something, because I can't leave. Won't, I mean, he's not forcing me, I just – I don't get it.

Eventually Axel breaks the silence and says, "Were you really gonna go?"

I swallow and nod.

"You know they'll destroy you." His eyes are cold again, though it doesn't feel directed at me.

"Yeah. I know." My voice barely comes out. "But it's no different than what will happen if I stay."

"It's _completely _different," Axel growls, clenching a tight fist. I don't think he knows how scary he is when he does stuff like that. It's like he's a whole different person than my best friend Axel, and I want him back. And maybe it is worse when he yells, "Running away again is giving up! Giving up me, giving up Roxas, giving up any chance we have at finding a way to fix this!"

"Face it, Axel!" But now that he yelled first, I have the strength to yell back. "There isn't a way to fix this! There are some things even you can't do!"

That broke something in his eyes, in a way that's almost-maybe-more awful than when he acts scary. He's vulnerable now... and I never realized how much I needed him to stay strong. "…What happened to the days when you believed I could do anything?"

"Axel…" I step closer and reach out vaguely again, but he doesn't try anything. Just stands there looking crumpled and defeated with his shoulders slumped. "I still believe in you."

"No you don't. If you did, you would stay here and trust me to protect you."

I wish it was that simple. I barely manage to look him in the eyes and keep my voice steady, replying, "I'm trusting you to protect me by letting me go."

I don't know if that was the right thing or the wrong thing to say, because now he won't look at me. "Xi… if I had a heart, you would be tearing it in pieces."

"I'm sorry…" This time I squeeze his hand because it feels right, coaxing a surprised smile out of him. "I want to protect you too, you know."

"Still tearing." But somehow he's still smiling, and I am too, and I don't have the will to hurt either of us by leaving now.

"I thought you said _if _you had a heart?"

"…Touché."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means stop correcting my logic and let me escort you to your room like a gentleman."

"You're assuming I'm not leaving."

"…You're not, right?" He must have no shame; he's trying to pull off Puppy Eyes on purpose. (I only do it on accident… most of the time.) And it's working.

"No." I smile and shake my head in a resigned sort of way.

I don't know how our argument ended that way, but I'll be honest, I wasn't really ready to face it yet anyway.

**A/N: I didn't have a firm idea in mind whether this would be romantic or platonic when I started writing it, but I decided it worked a lot better platonically. I don't really like the idea of AkuShi romance where Axel is trying to force Xion to stay; he gets too creepy and… controlling, I guess might be the word, in that situation. :/ It's hard to write him in a way where he doesn't have too much power.**

**I think the interpretation of AkuShi I like best in canon is overprotective-older-brother.**


	78. Old Friends, Old Rivals

Old Friends, Old Rivals – Ventus

"Nice try, Ven." Terra kept the plate above my head and dropped a whole pancake into his mouth.

"No fair! You're taller than me!"

He grinned irritatingly. "You've got the legs of a rabbit, just jump for it."

I _was _jumping to reach the plate of pancakes, but he lifted them up higher every time. Plus I didn't have my usual energy at six a.m. without any breakfast.

"Terra." Aqua appeared in the doorway, her arms crossed disapprovingly. "Don't tease him like that, it's mean."

"I'm not teasing, we're – hey!"

While he was distracted, I sprung up and snatched the plate out of his hands, somehow landing without spilling a drop of syrup or faceplanting. That was pretty impressive for me, especially so early in the morning. _And _before breakfast.

"Now the score's four to seven," I announced smugly. Sure, I was the four, but that was better than three.

"I let you get away with that," Terra shot back.

"Huh?" Axel looked between us while I snarfed down Terra's pancakes. "Oh, don't tell me you're still playing that game."

"It's not a game," I said between bites.

"It's an intense war between rivals, of which I will be victorious," Terra proclaimed.

"Wow, I didn't know you knew such big words."

He glared, silently saying _"Shut up, Ven."_

Aqua rolled her eyes. "When you two decide to be sensible and stop stealing each other's food, I'll bake cookies."

Me and terra exchanged a glance. Aqua's cookies were pretty much heaven in edible form. My mouth watered at the thought.

"Well, I'm winning anyway." Terra grinned. "I'm fine if you want to forfeit."

"Terra, don't be dumb." Aqua shot him her personalized _"be nice or else" _look.

Man, I reeeeally wanted Aqua's cookies, but was it worth letting Terra win? That wasn't the real question – was it worth listening to him brag about it for the whole rest of the week? This was a serious decision.

"…Can I lick the spoon?"

She smiled and ruffled my hair. "Of course, Ven."

Okay, completely worth it. I swallowed my last bite of pancake, wiped syrup off my mouth with the back of my also-syrupy hand, and dumped my plate in the sink. "Okay. You win, Terra."

"Wait, you're just giving up?"

"Yep."

"No arguing or anything?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "I like cookies."

Terra laughed. "Ven, I have to teach you a few things about being a worthy rival…"

Aqua laughed, too. "Come on, Terra. Help us make cookies."

Being friends was way better than being rivals, anyway.

**A/N: I think this is my favorite drabble for this challenge in a long time. C: This takes place before Terra and Ven grow out of pestering each other. Of course, Aqua matured faster than them. :P **


	79. Enter the Darkness

Enter the Darkness – Vanitas

Darkness is a lot of things. It's what gave me power, it's how I was born, it's what caused and still causes me pain every moment of my existence. If you can even call this 'existence.'

But mostly darkness is lonely. You'd think I'd get used to it after ten years (I've kept track) on this stupid pillar, right? Wrong. I don't even have that idiot Ventus to bounce insults off of. I bet his pillar's lit up, wherever it is. Mine is black as my heart. I get some Red Hot Chilies or Yellow Mustards to light it up sometimes, but they annoy me so I kill them and it hurts.

Besides, when it's dark I can pretend there are people out there. Not that I ever liked people, it's just boring without anyone to torment.

…Okay, so maybe I liked _some _people. One person, anyway. Too bad all we ever did was try to kill each other.

Too bad she won.

Sometimes I think I hear her calling for Ventus… It's so echoy and faint I can trick myself into hearing the 'e' as an 'a,' and she's calling for me instead. It's a lie, but when have I ever had anything real? It's all in my head anyway.

I'm dead. I should be dead. I'm not dead enough. Ventus saved me by dragging me into that light with him, but there's no light for me.

Ha, what a joke. A creature of the dark wanting light? I'd be better off moving to Atlantica and listening to "Under the Sea" on repeat for the rest of my not-life.

But still, if I had a choice… would I choose light over darkness? Would I choose to be like Ven?

…Pfft, it's not like I can change anything anyway.


	80. Drops of Poison

Drops of Poison – Axel

It's cold and wet and wet and cold and _flaming pants, what were we doing here? _Saïx didn't tell me that the Land of Dragons had freezing _blizzards!_

"I'm gonna die," I moaned, spit already trying to freeze in my mouth.

"Complaints are useless, Axel." Saïx stood with his crazy-straight posture, like the rip-your-coat-to-shreds wind and freeze-your-face-off snow weren't bothering him _at all. _He started walking straight into the blizzard.

"Saï! Wait!" I tried to jog to catch up, but I faceplanted and gah _even more cold._

"Stop fooling around."

I didn't get up. I was just gonna freeze to death in the four-feet-deep snow and die forever.

Suddenly Saïx yanked me up by my shoulder. "Come on, the sooner we complete this mission, the sooner we can RTC."

"I can't work in this stuff," I said, shivering violently. "It's _poison."_

"We don't have time for this." He rolled his eyes like I was offensive to his nonexistence. "Just make a fire."

"Oh. Yeah." I cast Fira, hugging the fireball close to my chest until I thawed a little. At least being a Nobody gave me some useful powers. But if I wasn't a Nobody I wouldn't be here having to do stupid missions that were gonna get me killed.

"Better?" Saïx asked.

"Kinda. A mug of hot chocolate would still be nice…"

"Nice try." He dragged me by the hood farther into the blizzard.

**A/N: Double update, w00t!  
><strong>

**Normally I write Axel as being immune to cold because of his element, but I got the idea from Raberba girl to try writing him the opposite way.**

**Also, this takes place pretty soon after they became Nobodies.**


	81. Sacred Moon

Sacred Moon – Saïx

Ten years. Ten long years had passed with no breakthroughs, no signs of hope, and suddenly this. Even though I could see it with my own eyes, I barely believed it.

Kingdom Hearts shone from the dark sky in the form of a heart-shaped moon. Moon. _My _element.

Xemnas continued rambling, but I and the rest of the Organization ignored him. No words could describe what I was feeling – no, not feeling, not yet. Soon.

Still, I smiled.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" Axel whispered, crossing his arms, his usual half-smirk present on his face like he could personally claim credit for the miracle floating above us.

"Yes. Yes it is." That was certainly an understatement.

"We owe it to Roxas and Xion, y'know. We couldn't have this without them."

An unpleasant expression almost crossed my face, which in itself showed how being close to Kingdom Hearts was affecting me. Axel was correct, I was forced to admit, regardless of my negative disposition towards the keyblade wielders.

"They have done our Organization well," I said, making Axel smile.

"You should tell them that. Boost their morale." Axel clapped me on the back as Xemnas dismissed us, and my friend went to join the children.

I hung back, still captivated by the moon's glow. The only (semi-)natural light The World That Never Was had ever seen.

"Soon," I whispered. "Soon."

Soon a heart would once more be mine.


	82. What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath – Axel

"Don't do it!" Demyx begged, throwing himself at my feet. If I wasn't already at the bottom of the stairs by now, he would've made us both trip and brake our necks.

"Seriously, Demyx, it's just a basement. How bad can it be?"

He shuddered. "Xigbar made me go down there to get him some burritos. Trust me, you don't wanna go."

I shook him off of my foot, figuring he was either trying to scare me or just being a wimp. "Are you coming, Saï?" I called up the stairs.

"This is ridiculous," he scoffed.

"You're just scared," I taunted.

"Nobodies cannot—"

"Yeah, we don't have hearts, blah blah blah." I mocked him with a blabbing hand gesture, which he rolled his eyes at. "So why aren't you down here?"

"This endeavor is pointless," he persisted, though he did start walking down towards us. "Why would anyone store ice cream in the basement?"

"Dem said Xigbar keeps his burritos down there," I pointed out, jerking a thumb in the mulleted Nobody's direction.

"_Everything _is down there," he said, wiggling his fingers in a way that was probably supposed to be creepy but just made him look like an idiot. "Every scary monster that hides in closets and under beds. Oh, and those elves that always steal your shoes. But only the left ones," he added more lightly, shrugging.

Saïx and I stared at him, then at each other. My friend raised an eyebrow, silently asking, _"Why is he even in this Organization?" _I shrugged and grinned.

"In that case, we'll take our left shoes back, too." I summoned my chakrams. "C'mon, Saï, for ice cream!"

Luckily Saïx hung back while I charged in, so when I screamed like a six-year-old girl he calmly pulled me back and slammed the door on the giant dragon Nobody monster lurking beneath the castle.

**A/N: This was one of those things where I'm like "Man, this is so stupid," while I'm writing it but then I go back and laugh reading it anyway. *sweatdrop***

**The dragon-Nobody is sort of like a baby version of the giant dragon-ship-thing Xemnas turns into/fights with in KHII. Xigbar eating burritos is a running gag in my fics since one of my very first one-shots, "Organization XIII Orders Pizza."**

**Thanks to Miwasaki Yuki rin, Raberba girl, Timber Wolf, RavensDelight, and Axel'sChakrams8 for reviewing! :D**


	83. Unforgettable

Unforgettable – Naminé

Puppet. Nobody. Witch. They're all the same: names for not-people who will never have a chance to be remembered.

I blend into the white walls like any other piece of furniture. Forget being remembered, I would be lucky just to be noticed. Even if I was outside in the real world, where there are real people to notice me, what would I do? I don't know anything outside of this castle. I don't have any memories or personality or talents, unless you count scribbling sketches.

My one power is manipulation. Of memories. Zexion called that "irony."

But I guess it's better than nothing. I'd like to be remembered for who I am… but I'm nothing. It's much easier to be remembered as someone else.

So I draw myself into Kairi's place. They aren't good drawings – Larxene blatantly mocks them – but I'm getting better with practice, and they get the point across. I weave myself into Sora's memory and heart, and he thinks he knows me. My not-heart flutters when he says my name for the first time.

But I still wonder – If I didn't interfere with his memories, would he still try to save me? Larxene laughs at the idea; Marluxia scoffs. Axel shrugs and says, "That's what heroes do, isn't it?"

Sora is every inch the hero. Brave, determined, (cute)… Always fighting for his friends… If I was his friend, he would fight for me. In his memories I'm his friend.

I can have everything I want if this plan works out. I get my hero, and I get my freedom. So why does this feel so wrong?

_Because I'm not his, and he's not mine, _my conscience says. I'm not meant to be in his heart. I'm a puppet, a Nobody, a witch, just a shadow to fade and disappear.

But memories don't disappear…

_If only I could be unforgettable…_

**A/N: LET'S JUST SLATHER ON THE ANGST-SAUCE, SHALL WE. Ugh, it would be one thing if it was actually well-written… *headdesk* **


	84. The Price of Freedom

The Price of Freedom – Riku

Kairi's red hair caught the moonlight, creating a bright halo around her head, but it didn't do anything to brighten her lifeless eyes. I rested her head in my lap, looking down at the city of London far below. The sight was amazing…

"Do you like it, Kairi?" I whispered. Of course she didn't respond, but I hoped that deep in her subconscious she could hear me. Probably not. But I still tried. "You'd never get a view like this on the islands."

Her eyes stayed blank and unfocused, like polished glass orbs.

"But I guess you aren't getting the view now…" I sighed and brushed a lock of red hair out of her face. It was stupid to pretend that she could hear me. That she could feel me.

I thought I would give anything to get off of Destiny Islands, and I did. My friendship with Sora. Kairi's heart. Gone. My fault. She's empty, and it's my fault…

I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking out the beautiful view. Echoes of city lights glittered on the backs of my eyelids. I didn't deserve to see any of this, without them…

"It's going to be okay, Kairi," I said to myself more than her, trying to sound as confident as I did when I used to race Sora. "I'll find a way to save you. Even if I have to search the whole universe."

Leaning down, my bangs brushed her forehead before I pulled myself back. Even if it was only on her forehead, not her lips, I couldn't kiss her like this. I didn't deserve to – I was not a prince, and she was not my princess.

Would she ever be?

Even if – no, _when, _definitely when – I saved her, this whole mess would still be my fault. Our home was gone. We might never see our families again. I had been willing to sacrifice all that… For what? A change of scenery? And no one to share it with…

Guilt writhed in my chest when I looked again into Kairi's dim, empty eyes.

Who knew the price of freedom could be so high?

**A/N: I'm not sure if this scene actually happened in KHI; it's based on a cutscene from re:Coded that randomly appears in Jiminy's Journal. I don't think there's anything to rule out the possibility, though. If it wasn't clear, they're on top of Big Ben in "Neverland"/London.**


	85. Shaded Truths

Shaded Truths – Roxas

"Where are you headed off to, kupo?"

The moogle's question made me stop running down the hallway. Wait, he actually left the Grey Area? Well, he wasn't there earlier when I confronted Axel… Whatever, why should I care? Doubt I'd get a straight answer if I asked about it.

"Somewhere else," I grumbled vaguely.

"Want an elixir? They're on sale."

I was anxious to get out of the castle before anyone followed me, but I asked, "How much?"

"One hundred percent off." He tossed me the panel. If he had a mouth, I think he would've been smiling.

The act of kindness caught me by surprise. "Thanks." I smiled and quickly installed the elixir in my panel arrangement before sprinting down the hall. At least there was one person – if moogles counted as people – who wasn't a jerk. But I couldn't stay.

The weight of whispered secrets and shaded truths hung in the air. It was like I could smell betrayal when I breathed, and the choking smell made me want to cough out my lungs. Or that could've been exhaustion getting to me. I was out of breath and the _hiss_ing of Dusks was getting close. They'd catch up to me.

They'd regret it.

My keyblade slashed through them, heavy in my hands. Axel said my energy problems were because Xion's draining my power. But he also said she's "_a mirror that reflects me," and_ he has to break her. How could I trust him? He wouldn't even tell me who I am!

The angry memories fueled a battle cry while I finished off the Dusks. I stood, panting, regaining my strength. Maybe I'd need that elixir sooner than I thought.

"Come on," I muttered to myself. "I'm stronger than this. Some stupid Dusks can't stop me."

Axel had to be lying about everything else, but my energy _was _being drained. Didn't mean he needs to put an end to Xion. We could find a way. _I _would find her, and I would find a way.

I slung my keyblade over my shoulder and took off again, ready to find the truth.


	86. Fate of the Unknown

**A/N: Let's just pretend this actually fits the prompt, shall we? *headdesk***

Fate of the Unknown- Axel

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"Do I have to know everything?"

"I _thought _you knew everything."

"Well sorry to disappoint, Rox, but girls are just one of those things that'll always be unknown."

I grin; Roxas keeps pouting. It's crazy, some of the things he expects me to know. _What's Xion thinking these days?_ Sheesh, Roxas's guess is as good as mine.

"Our Organization seriously needs more girls," I mutter.

"Huh? Why?" Roxas asks.

"If Xi's having girl issues, she wouldn't wanna talk to us about it." It must really stink for her. I mean, I can't even imagine being outnumbered by girls twenty-four-seven. 'Course there'd be some benefits, but I'd probably wanna tear my hair out after a week.

"What are 'girl issues'?" He asks innocently.

…Y'know, I should know better than to mention certain things around this kid by now. "Problems girls have that us guys don't," I reply vaguely.

"So Xion has more problems than us?" He frowns.

"Not necessarily…" She doesn't have to try too hard to figure out what we're thinking, for example. "Forget I said anything. She'll be fine."

"But we're her friends. We should be able to help." Roxas stares at me with that kicked-puppy look he's so good at.

Siiigh. "Look, Rox, sometimes girls just need space. Give her some time."

I doubt he'll listen to me. He doesn't look like he's listening now. His ice cream is melting, and he's staring at the sunset and probably burning his eyeballs out of their sockets.

"Is she going to show up today?" He asks, letting his ice cream melt down its stick and onto his glove.

"What do you take me for, a psychic?" I roll my eyes. "I don't know."

"Oh…" He slouches pitifully, and I sigh.

"We can RTC and look for her if it'll make you feel better, but she probably just went to bed early."

Completely ignoring the last half of what I said, Roxas jumps up and pulls me with him, slurping the semisolid remnants of his ice cream off the stick. Man, he really is obsessed with that girl.

I'll never understand how both of them act just like humans and don't even know it.


	87. Go For It!

Go For It! – Sora

Why was the phone so slippery? It felt like a wet bar of soap , dipped in an extra layer of slime for good measure. I tried to wipe it dry on my shorts, but it still felt slippery.

Oh. That's because it's not the phone, it's my hands. They were sweating worse than when me and Riku sparred on the play island all day. I must've dropped my wooden sword about a million times.

I sat bouncing on the edge of my bed, tossing the phone from hand to hand until it slipped again and flew across the room.

"Whoops..." Hopefully Mom didn't hear that and think I was swinging my keyblade around in the house again. The sound was pretty much swallowed by the padding of dirty clothes on the floor. I dug around until I found the phone, then stared at it, palms already sweating up a flood again.

I thought asking a girl on a date would be cake after beating Ansem and Xemnas and saving the worlds twice, but I couldn't even find the courage to press the first button of Kairi's phone number.

After staring at the phone long enough to burn a hole in it (if I had had laser vision, that is – that's one superpower that didn't come bundled in the Keyblade Wielder Value Pack), I finally decided to call… Riku.

"HeyRikuit'smeSoraIneedhelp," I said in one breath.

"Woah, slow down," his voice said. "What did you say?"

"How do I ask Kairi out?"

A static-y sigh came through the phone. "Sora, you realize I've never asked out a girl either, right?"

…Oh. Yeah, of course I knew that… Riku just always seemed like he knew everything. "I thought you could help anyway."

He didn't say anything for a while. I think he might've been shifting his phone. "…Just go for it, I guess." Another sigh.

"Um, Riku…" I ruffled my hair, remembering something. "You don't still like Kairi, do you? I mean, I didn't mean to—"

"I don't – not Kairi," he said quickly. "Not Kairi."

"_He likes Naminé," _Roxas said inside my head, suddenly deciding he wanted to get talkative. He hardly ever replied when I tried to talk to him first.

_How do you know that? _I asked back.

"_Naminé likes him, and she's – well, they spent, like, a whole year together. You'd notice it if you could see Naminé the way I do."_

O-kay. I still didn't get how he knew that Riku liked her, but whatever. Roxas usually knew what he was talking about, when he bothered to talk.

"_Stop sitting there like an idiot and make him feel better."_

Of course I was going to do that. "We'll find a way to get Naminé back for you," I promised out loud.

Silence. Maybe Riku hung up; how long was I talking to Roxas inside my head?

"You… what…?" Okay, so he didn't hang up. Guess he was just surprised. Or confused.

"Roxas," I explained.

"I won't ask…" He muttered. "This isn't about me, anyway. You need to call Kairi."

I'd almost forgotten about that while I was thinking about Riku and Naminé, but now my nervousness came back. "…Do I have to now?"

"You want to go out with her, right?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then go for it," he said. Like it was that easy.

"But—"

"Let me make this simple: if you don't ask Kairi, I'll ask Naminé."

And why would that—? Oh yeah, they were still in the same body.

"N-no, that's okay look I'm hanging up to call her, see?"

I quickly pressed the END CALL button. My hands started sweating again, but I dialed her number before I could think too hard about what I was doing.

_Beeeep. Beeeep. Beeeep. Beee—_

"Hello?"


	88. Hunter of the Dark

Hunter of the Dark – Aqua

There's a light out there somewhere, past the horizon, and it's too dark to see but I know it has to be there because I can't keep walking like this; it's too far, too far, and it's too dark and I'm going blind because my eyes aren't used to seeing.

Maybe I'm like a bat, like those bats that lived up in the attic and screeched and flew out like a tornado when Terra and I went up there to clean. Like a bat, I feel echoes. So many echoes. How can a place so quiet be so loud? Sometimes it's good, because I need the echoes so I can feel my way when I can't see.

Some of the rocks glow a pallid, sick blue. I used to like blue. It's the only color here, but it's almost not a color anymore, just a vague glare sandpapering my eyes whenever it's not too dark.

Darkness is bad. Master Eraqus always said so. But there's so much… and I've been here so long… and fighting's so hard… It would be easier to give in. Just stop walking. Let the Shadows come and… I don't know what they'd do. They don't bother me much, not anymore. Maybe… Maybe I'm already dead, maybe my heart's already gone and my light's gone and they don't want anything from me because I don't have anything left to give.

But… I never stop for long. I never give up, not truly. That's how I know my heart's still in there, still burning. I have to see Ven and Terra again. My last sight of them… Ven was comatose, his heart in such a deep sleep I couldn't wake him. Terra, with those gold eyes that ripped my soul apart before his keyblade – no, _Xehanort's _keyblade – could rip my flesh.

No. _No_, I am _Master _Aqua, and I will not let it end like this. My last memories of my friends can't be so dark.

I hunt through the darkness, still searching for that light that has to be beyond the horizon.


	89. Disquieting

**A/N: This is the product of me and Lexicon being stupid. My apologies if Lexaeus or Xaldin is OOC; I don't write them often. Also, I took the theme quite literally with this one.**

**Double update today! :D**

Disquieting – Lexaeus

"Hey, I think I know why Lex barely ever says anything!" Demyx announced, barging into the Grey Area with all the subtlety of a Darkside wearing Vexen's snowman-patterned nightclothes.

"And whatever might _that _be?" Xaldin smirked slightly. He would enjoy twisting the young Nobody's words back into indirect insults, I was sure.

"He must have a word count limit! And if he talks too much, he turns into a rock for the rest of the day." Demyx grinned at me. I blinked, glanced at Xaldin, then blinked again.

"Where in the worlds did you come up with that idea?" Xaldin examined him like he was the rock, too stunned to bother with a witty retort. I knew Demyx had… intelligence issues, but I hadn't heard something this absurd come out of his mouth before.

"Axel told me." Clearly taking advantage of Number IX's lack of sense already. He plopped down beside me on the couch. "Sooo, can you talk a lot so I can see you turn into a rock?"

"No." I turned my attention back to my puzzle. He started to poke me obnoxiously, but I still ignored him. Eventually my unresponsiveness bored him and he stopped.

"Man, you're already a rock." He pouted off, leaving me and Xaldin in quietude again.

Xaldin sighed. "Maybe one day he will understand that silence is a virtue."

"Somehow I doubt that."


	90. Sanctuary

Sanctuary - Roxas

"Do you ever want to just run away?" I asked suddenly while me and Xion were eating our ice creams. She stared at me, and I looked away. Why did I bother? She'd tried to run away; the Organization wouldn't let her.

"Do you?" She asked back.

I shrugged. "Not by myself." _Not like you did._

Xion shook her head. Her ice cream was melting, but she stared at it instead of eating it.

"What?" I asked.

"It's… nothing." She sighed.

Why did she do that? Look so sad and hurt and not tell me why? We're best friends; she can trust me. But I didn't say anything, I just ate my ice cream in lonely silence.

"Roxas," she finally said, her head hanging limply. "We can't run away together."

"Why not? If Axel came with us, they'd never—"

"He won't," Xion interrupted. "And even if he did, he can't protect us forever. Nowhere's safe for us."

"What are you talking about?" My hand gripped my now-bare ice cream stick so hard it cracked in half. Why did she have to talk like that? Why was she giving up before we even tried?

Xion shook her head. I hated the motion, the resignation in it. "We can't run away from who we are." She stood up, eating the last half-melted bites of her ice cream, and left without explaining.

I groaned loudly, dropping my face in my hands. Why did everything have to be so confusing? And what did she mean, "who we are"? Did she know who I am?

Whatever she thought she knew, whoever we were, she had to be wrong. We _would _be together, all three of us.

With all the worlds in the universe, one had to be a sanctuary.


	91. A Very Small Wish

A Very Small Wish – Riku Replica

_Why?_

_Just…_

_Why?_

The word echoed with each heartbeat.

_Why? Why?_

My brain was too broken to process anything else. _I _was too broken.

_Why? _Naminé shattered my heart... _Why? _I still wanted to protect her… _Why? _She chose Sora over me… _Why? _Everything I knew was a lie…

I retreated farther into my corner of the room, pressing myself against the pristine walls like a dark stain. _Is that what she sees me as? _Naminé's perfect. She couldn't think badly of anyone – but that's what my memories told me. For all I knew, she could be the witch Larxene said she is.

The thought felt like one of the Savage Nymph's charged knives twisted inside my rib cage. My heart rejected it so much it left a rancid scent in my nose. _Why should I believe Larxene, anyway?_

Sank farther into the floor; clutched my head in my hands. _Why… does it matter?_

I wanted to be the Real Riku – I wanted to be myself – I wanted myself to be Real Riku. But I couldn't be any of those; I was just a broken shadow.

_Way to lay on the angst, Ri-_ No, not Riku. _What a sick joke_. I didn't even have a real name so I could properly talk to myself. _Wonder if Real Thing's this emo._

I wanted to cry. Real Thing was too strong for crying, I but I wasn't. Not like there was anyone around who would care if I bawled my guts out anyway. I sobbed until I was just shivering, shaking, no tears left. They were all over my face and chest and the cold floor. I wiped my face with my palm, only managing to smear the water around.

But somehow I felt better. Drained, wiped out, but better. Anyone who says crying doesn't help anything is lying. I had no energy left to think or wonder what would happen now. No energy to wonder why…

Just barely enough strength for one small wish…

I wish for someone…

Anyone…


	92. Night of Tragedy

Night of Tragedy – Terra

Saturday night was the most amazingly, wonderfully awesome night of the week: no late training, no getting up super-early the next day, chores already done, just me, Aqua, and Ven having a good time. The only problem was that they didn't always know what a good time _was_.

"We're _not _sitting around and watching some lame chick flick," I said when I saw Aqua pull open the movie cabinet.

"Terra, you've only watched one 'chick flick' in your entire life," she countered, "And I'll admit _Another Cinderella Story _wasn't the greatest."

I still wondered what the first Cinderella story was if that was another one, but I couldn't see the original being much better.

"That's the point: they're not good."

Aqua rolled her eyes. "You can't make that generalization after only watching one movie."

"Um, guys?" Ven interrupted.

"I still don't – Ow!" Aqua punched my arm.

"Yes, Ven?" She asked sweetly, like she hadn't just bruised me.

"Can we watch Bambi?" He smiled hopefully, also not acknowledging my pain.

"Sure we can." Aqua smiled back. "Right, Terra?"

Gah, what was _wrong _with them? _Bambi? _That movie was… "You don't want to watch that, Ven."

"Why not?"

Aqua grinned, silently teasing me. She knew. I bet she was the one who told him about _Bambi _in the first place; who else would've?

"Go on, tell him why," she pushed.

"…'Cause it's a _tragedy, _that's why." Why was Aqua being so mean today? …Probably because I made us watch a zombie apocalypse movie last week that freaked her out. She still hadn't been scared enough to cuddle with me, though, so it couldn't have been too bad. Or maybe it was because Ven barged into her room whining about nightmares afterwards.

Okay, so maybe I deserved it.

"What's a tragedy?" Ven asked.

"A movie that makes Terra cry," Aqua answered. Why, _why_ did that girl hate me? (Rhetorical question, don't answer that.)

Ven stared at me. "You can _cry?"_

For the record, I had _barely _cried. _Barely_. It was just my luck that Aqua had heard me sniffle.

"C'mon, let's pick a different movie," I tried to change the subject.

"…But Aqua said Bambi's good," Ven persisted.

I thought knowing it made me cry would change his mind, but Ven can be as stubborn as me when he wants to. And since I got to pick last week, there was no way I could argue. Plus arguing would be admitting just how much Bambi bothered me.

My eyes were just a little wet that night.

**A/N: My headcanon!Terra has no dignity. *sweatdrop***


	93. Dark Impetus

Dark Impetus – Xion

I'm the whisper in the back of your head that says you're forgetting, but you frown and ignore me because you've gone deaf from hearing me so much. The sound of waves crash inside your mind and you long to be there with the people – excuse me, person; no, Nobody – you miss. I'm less than Nobody; hello, can you hear me? No reply. See what I mean?

Is it creepy that I'm inside you? I'm everywhere now, but your heart – yes, _heart, _that's what I said – is so warm, so I'll hang out here and keep you company while you sleep and try to dream your way back to us. I wish it was working.

Sometimes I think you notice me, when I try and project myself far enough to touch you. You tense and look around and your hand tries to find mine but it passes through. Less-than-less-than-Nobodies can't even feel that much.

But I'll stay, even though it hurts that you keep brushing me off like some dark impetus, and I think I scare you sometimes. Do you remember your nightmares? I'll take the keyblade I used to have and fight them off. You like it when I do that. I wish you'd say "Thank you" sometime, but of course you don't know it's me. Why would you thank a figment of your imagination?

But I'm not. I'm here, I'm real, or at least as real as I ever was. Listen to the whispers in your head and whisper back, and I'll grow louder and louder until you hear me clearly.

Get me memorized.

Bring me back.

**A/N: This is strange… and rambly… and old… like September 1****st,**** 2012 old.**


	94. Deep Anxiety

Deep Anxiety – Axel

"_Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make-believe friendship, or a real one?"_

If I needed any more proof that Saïx was insane, this was it. He had to be talking about Roxas and Xion, but then why would only one of them be fake? We're all Nobodies. If Saïx thought my friendship with Xion was a fantasy, why would he count Roxas as real? What made them different? What did Saïx see that I didn't?

I couldn't help staring down at Xion's unconscious form. Yeah, I know what you're thinking – it's creepy for guys to watch little girls while they sleep. I'm not like that, got it memorized? She'd been in a coma for days; I was starting to get anxious.

She looked healthy enough, if her steady breathing and not-paler-than-usual face were anything to go by. I wished I'd been here when was unconscious so I could've had some experience to fall back on. Did someone need to feed her? Would potions help? Was there anything I could do at all?

Roxas had asked if she'd wake up. I didn't know. He asked _if _she'd wake up. I didn't know. I asked myself the same questions, over and over and over, but my anxiety only deepened as I got more and more desperate for answers.

I sighed, running my fingers though my hair. "Do you know what you're putting us through, Xi?"

No, of course she didn't. It's not like she wanted to be in a coma. It was selfish to blame her for making me anxious.

"Since when do I care if I'm selfish?" I muttered. Thinking about that… "Probably around the time I decided I could be anxious."

Which was around the time Roxas and Xion showed up and started getting into all kinds of trouble. So in a way it _was _her fault, not that I considered that an entirely bad thing. Feeling anything was better than feeling nothing, right?

Anxiety… Nervousness… Worry… they weren't fun, but they were signs that I wasn't completely empty.

I looked one last time at Xion before I left them room. She had to wake up… so I could tell her how much I cared.

**A/N: In case there was any doubt, this wasn't supposed to be romantic at all.**


	95. Vim and Vigor

Vim and Vigor – Axel

You're only empty when you sit there doing nothing and think about it. You think and think and think and nothing happens; your brain's whirring backwards at a million miles per hour but your heart's still blank. You could be dead and feel more alive than you do then.

I can't sit still; I can't feel like nothing and Nobody or I'll die, for real this time. At first I paced so much I tracked trenches in the dull grey floors. They told me to go out and make myself useful, so now I gear up and sprint through the rain-slick streets, leaving a trail of steam in my footsteps while slashing my chakrams through the Shadows. There's a sense of revenge but it isn't sweet. Sometimes there's pain but I don't feel it any more than I feel emotions.

When I really get going, fast, faster than Demyx runs at the sight of vegetables, I feel something, maybe. I feel a maniacal laugh on my face – I put it there. I feel adrenaline shooting through my empty veins, a jolt of vim and vigor injected straight into my chest.

But you can only not-think for so long, and I run out of fire and adrenaline, vim and vigor, and eventually I have to go "home" and sleep alone in my cold-walled room, staring up at the blank ceiling, remembering my blank heart.

And waiting for sleep to come is so, so hard.


	96. Strange Whispers

Strange Whispers - Riku

Why am I still awake it's late I should be asleep. I never had insomnia before and I wasn't afraid of the dark either, I didn't sit up in bed frozen like a Blizzaga hit me and I shouldn't now, I'm fine everything's fine. The darkness can't hurt me anymore I beat the darkness so why do I still have the nightmares. I should be asleep.

Can't sleep can't sleep too dark, and then the nightmares come back and it's darker. Can't be awake either. Can I just not exist? I don't want to exist until it's light again. Tired tired so tired and I need to sleep. Sora and Kairi are going to get on my case about being a zombie again.

I force myself to lie down again and it's too quiet, but not quiet enough, and I hear whispers. Strange whispers that smell like darkness and lies. I jolt up again. It's Ansem it's Ansem again I know it is why won't he _get out of my head _I just want to sleep like a normal person and not be an idiot, I know it's not Ansem he's gone gone forever I killed him he's gone.

He's never gone.

I pull the covers over my head and take deep breaths and use up all my oxygen and it's too warm and stiffling, I'm going to suffocate in the dark. Can't stay here... have to get out…

Mom's a heavy sleeper. It takes too long to detangle myself from the blankets but I do and then I run down the stairs and no one stops me when I bust out the back door, taking deep breaths of summer air.

The stars are out. They're so bright, like I'll never be.

But they shine... and when they shine on me... the darkness goes away. I can breathe again. My thoughts don't run together anymore. I still can't believe I'm so weak... actually, I can. After everything I've been through, I'm surprised I don't have worse phobias.

I'm okay. I can breathe, and the stars are shining. The grass is warm when I curl up in it, still almost in the fetal position even though I'm okay, really, I am. I will be.

As long as Sora and Kairi don't see me like this...

**A/N: I do some weird stuff for this challenge. *sweatdrop* This was partially inspired by Raberba girl's "Lights Against the Darkness."**

**So much of what I write for this challenge is depressing/angsty/etc.**


	97. Dismiss

Dismiss – Vanitas

Yawwwn. Why did the sun have to get up so early on this world? Even inside my "room" – which was just a cave near the top of one of the cliffs – the light still managed to stab my better-suited-for-darkness-eyes. No matter where in the cave I slept, there was always one tiny beam lasering right on one of my eyelids. Believe me, I'd tried every square inch of floor. It was just out to get me.

"Vanitas, get up." That gravelly voice managed to stab my ears, too. What did that geezer do to get his voice like that, gargle sandpaper? I'd steal him a bag of cough drops if it would make him more bearable.

"_Vanitas, get up," _I mimicked in a low whisper, rolling onto my side, grabbing my helmet, and shoving it over my messy black spikes. Xehanort hadn't figured out I had a real face yet, and if I had my way he never would. There was some satisfaction in having one secret he didn't know.

I trudged to the edge of my cave, holding my hand in front of my eyes even though my mask blocked most of the annoying glare. Xehanort looked tiny down below, like I could squish him with the heel of my boot.

"Vanitas!"

Sheesh, no patience. Sometimes I felt like I was that Cinderella girl and he was my wicked stepmother, before Cinderella got to be a princess, anyway. Too bad I couldn't be a prince and boss Xehanort around. But after I forged the X-Blade, I'd be strong enough to do whatever I wanted to, so I just put up with him for now.

Taking my time, I summoned Void Gear and threw it spinning into the open air, and it boomeranged back in the form of my glider. I leisurely rode it down the side of the cliff – throwing in a loop or two just for fun – until I was hovering in front of Xehanort. It was nice to be higher than his eyelevel for once.

"Yes?" My one word dripped sarcastic politeness. Xehanort glared, but he never found the right spot to make direct eye contact under my mask.

"I'll choose another time to correct your attitude, boy." Blah blah blah. He couldn't see me rolling my eyes. "More darkness is needed in Disney Town. Take care of it."

He dismissed me by opening a corridor and hunching off through it. Where did the geezer go when he wasn't here at the Graveyard, anyway? Long as he never showed up at any of my hideouts, I didn't care.

"Disney Town. Joy." Sighing, I opened a dark corridor of my own and glided into it. "The things that old man puts me through…"

I couldn't wait until the day I could dismiss _him._

**A/N: This one was fun. ^^**

**Thanks for the 100 reviews, guys! :D :D**


	98. Darkness of the Unknown

**A/N: As requested by Xehanorto. C: Sorry if I didn't get his narrating style quite right; he's hard.**

Darkness of the Unknown - Xehanort

Destiny Islands was a beautiful world, I'll give it that. Plenty of palm trees and beaches and picture-perfect sunsets. The only major problem – aside from sunburns that eventually faded to tans and seagulls that didn't care where they left their droppings – was its size. It was a too-small world full of people with too-small brains. No place for anyone with dreams.

So naturally, when Master Xine came to Destiny Islands – I never found out why a Keyblade Master such as herself came to my insignificant world – I accepted her offer to become one of her apprentices. Her other apprentice, Eraqus, was back at her home, a world called the Land of Departure.

A place with more keyblade wielders. People like me. It was amazing, knowing there were others, but I feared my abilities wouldn't be considered special anymore.

Leaving the Islands was like jumping off of a cliff into the dark unknown, but I took the plunge gladly. Darkness was unexplored; darkness was where I could find adventure and answers.

As far as keyblade wielders go, I wasn't the best or greatest – not yet – but Eraqus's friendship made my mediocrity bearable. He was much more intelligent than any of the boys on Destiny Islands, even though he did get us into ridiculous messes from time to time. Somehow I don't regret most of them, not even the time we cast Blizzaga on a wild stag, climbed on it, and rode it bareback once the ice thawed.

But in spite of years of training together, years where I grew strong enough to match him, Master Xine always favored her first apprentice. He was light through and through, just like her; it blinded them to anything else. They never understood the benefits of darkness like I did.

When Master Xine passed away, I trained more vigorously. She would have wanted me to reach my full potential, which I could only realize with the power of darkness. Eraqus, however, grew only harder. His hatred for the darkness was so strong that it overpowered our friendship – he called me obsessed, _possessed. _How could he judge me when he was just the same with his precious Light?

I wasn't possessed. The darkness was completely under my control. Why was he so opposed to it? It was simply another form of power, just like light. No, _stronger _than light.

He was jealous, he must have been. He had always been the more skilled of the two of us, and now I was threatening to tip the scale. He feared me.

As he well should.

**A/N: A lot of this was inspired by Ask Master Eraqus, especially their master being a girl. Cookies for whoever gets how I came up with her name. C:**

**Also for the record, I don't like Xehanort, nor do I sympathize with him. Darkness is Bad and You Should Feel Bad. *sweatdrop***


	99. Beyond the Door

Beyond the Door – Xemnas

_Two keyblades clashed, my brown one clinging off of the girl's blue._

"_You better not be going easy on me," she said with a hint of accusation – just a hint, being polite for now. She kept her keyblade bared._

"_I'm not," I lied, but she saw through me._

"_Still underestimating me?"_

_The girl—_what is her name?— _parried my next strike and shot chunks of ice at me in rapid succession. When had she learned that spell? _Who is she?

_Trying to dodge by sliding out of the way, I lost my balance and tripped into the grass. The girl laughed. _So familiar, comforting even…?

"_Ha ha," I said sarcastically. _There is no point to sarcasm.

"_I warned you." She gave a smug smile as she held out a hand. I took it _don't let go _and she helped me to my feet. _

"_Well I have to hold back a _little…" _That was a mistake to say. _Why do I care? _She put her hands on her hips._

"_You're not—"_

"_I just don't want to hurt you, okay?" _That is not me. I have no qualms about hurting people, even this mysterious girl. _"I know you're strong and I'm not underestimating you, but this is just a sparring match. Neither of us needs to go all out."_

"_But how can I get stronger if I can't exercise my full strength?" The girl asked. _She is right; there is no growth if one does not push one's own limitations.

"_One of us could get—_Go ahead," My own voice cuts in. I hold my – his? – keyblade up, slicing towards the girl.

Her eyes widen. _What are you DOING? _Mouth drops open. _Get away from her! _Blocks without a second to spare. _Who are you? Get out of my—_

"_T—_blrpftttzzzz—_what's going on?!"_

I shove her to the ground, pointing the keyblade at her throat. "Tell me who you are." I immediately regret this method of gleaning information when I see the fear in her eyes. This should not affect me. Does not affect me; I feel no true regret.

"_Terr—_fttzzrrp—_friends since I came here! Who are _you?!"

"My name is of no importance."

I pull the blade away. I could not kill this girl. Why I could not fathom… Most likely my host's emotions. Who was he? How had I entered him?

_The girl stood up and ran, glancing over her shoulder. _I watched until she was out of sight.

XXX

The vision faded out, and I took my hand from the cold blue metal.

"Will you still not tell me your name?"

The armor remained silent, but some echo of warmth came to me. An echo I only ever felt here, for reasons I could never quite pinpoint. It must have something to do with the girl in the visions, but her features always faded from my mind seconds afterwards. She was already gone now.

"Did I ever know you?"

She was nowhere in my memories, but there was this sense of nostalgia…

_The other chamber has the answers, _I told myself.

The Chamber of Waking. The Chamber of Repose. What lay beyond those doors together could tell me…

What was it I wished to know?

**A/N: Hopefully this wasn't too confusing… Italics is Terra, regular is Xemnas. **


	100. After the Battle

After the Battle – Saïx

I thought I was nothing before. I was wrong, wrong; if that was nothing then I am less than nothing. Not fit for the light, but I will not turn back to darkness. Xehanort's presence is gone for the first time in an eternity. I won't let him in again, not now, not ever. I am completely, utterly alone, but I would much rather be the only inhabitant of this hazy not-white, not-black void than share it with him.

_Lea is safe, _I tell myself. My eyelids slide closed, not that it has any effect on my vision. _He's safe from me. He and the others can defeat Xehanort… Maybe I have fulfilled my debt…_

The guilt is still there, if I can feel such a thing. I do not fight it anymore; I deserve that emotion more than any more pleasant one. I cannot possibly be hurting more than the ones I have already hurt…

It does not matter that I am gone. At least I will not be used to hurt anyone else.

Yes, I am fine with this void…

I deserve to be confined to this void…

But if this is an empty void…

_Where is that light coming from?_

XXX

"Is Saïx up yet?"

"Roxas, it's Isa, remember? Lea said so."

"He still looks like Saïx."

"Well, Lea still looks like Axel."

"Yeah, but Axel was nice even when he was a Nobody."

The chattering voices irritated my ears, and white-hot pain instantly flared in my chest. Well, what did I expect after throwing myself at Lea's keyblade?

I expected to be dead. For real this time, not like my previous pseudo-deaths. Isa died. Saïx died. Xehanort-Saïx died. What did that make me now?

"-tries to boss us around, we'll just hit him."

"Roxas, that's not nice. He saved Lea's life."

"Looked more like Lea saved _him. _He had to carry him out of the battle when all the other Xehanorts were going after him."

I kept my breathing even, so as not to alert the children to my consciousness.

"Just give him a chance. Lea trusts him."

The girl's voice – it was certainly a girl, and sounded quite similar to Kairi – was that Xion? What possible reason could she have to defend me? Both of them could kill me now; no one would know or care.

"I dunno… When's Lea supposed to get back, anyway?"

Footsteps clicking on the hard floor. "What, miss me already?"

My eyes opened of their own accord. At the foot of the large bed stood Lea, holding three bars of sea-salt ice cream, grinning.

Xion saw me out of the corner of her eye and gasped. Roxas jumped into his battle stance, minus the keyblade. Lea stared, and stared, and finally smiled a sincere smile.

"Our eyes match again."

I couldn't find the energy to speak back – my chest burned now more than before, and everything looked blurred through my stinging eyes. The pain… it wasn't purely physical, and I wasn't sure it was purely pain.

"Flying ice cream, is he crying?!" Roxas leaned over the bed and much too close into my face.

Too much. Too much all at once… Pain and not-pain and I didn't know what…

"Give him some space," Lea said, nudging the children aside to make room for himself. "We're in Radiant Garden," he said softly. "The battle's over. Xehanort's gone for good."

"Gone…?" I winced and gasped in a breath, but I saw Lea nod.

"Yep, gone forever. Poof, goodbye." He patted my shoulder. "We're sure of it this time. And more importantly, you've got your heart back."

I don't think my expression changed, but the inner emotional reaction I had to that statement proved its truth. "How…?"

"How 'bout I save that story for when you're more awake?"

I closed my eyes in response and almost instantly fell unconscious again. The last thing I saw was Lea's smile as he spoke the words I had waited too long to hear:

"Welcome home, Isa."

**A/N: After about a year and a half, this is finally done. Wow. It's kind of weird… I've had it sitting in the background since pretty soon after I joined FFN… But yeah, it's definitely good to be done.**

**Uhhh… I'm too lazy to ramble more. *sweatdrop* Hope you enjoyed this challenge!**


End file.
